A great opportunity
by Mallorybates09
Summary: This is only chapter 1-28. I update the rest of the story on tumblr.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A New Opportunity

I thought today was going to be awful. I just announced 2 hours ago that I would be retiring and not competing in London for the 2012 Olympics. I have had a hectic day and fixing to go take a long hot shower. As I was about to cut my phone off I get a call.

" Hello?"

" Yes, Miss Johnson this is the producer of Dancing with the Stars. How are you?"

" I'm doing fine how are you?"

" Good. You may have heard already, but we are having an All Stars competition in a couple of months and would love to know if you would like to join our cast."

Did I really just get asked this? Oh my goodness what am I going to say?

" I would definitely have to think about it. What would this season be about?" I asked

" Well this year we want to have 13 contestants from the past 14 seasons, and have past winners and fan favorites. You were top on our list to come back. I can give you one week to come up with you answer. We have about 3 other people left to ask then we will have to partner everybody up. If you come up with your decision sooner than that then you can contact me at anytime." He explained

" I would love to, but of course I still have to think about it. I will keep this wonderful opportunity in mind and will get back to you." I said

" Thank you for your time Miss Johnson, I really hope you decide to be on the show again. Always a pleasure to watch you dance, bye"

" Bye."

I am so excited I definitely want to do it, but what about my knee? Will it be able to hold up through all those weeks of practice? I need to talk to some one. I pull out my phone and call the two people who have always been there for me. My parents.

" Hello" my mom answered

" Mom are you and dad home?"

" Yes, Shawn do you need him?"

" Will you get him and put your phone on speaker phone?"

" Yes, hold on."

I wish I could tell them in person. This is a huge decision. As I was consumed in my thoughts I hear my dads voice.

" Shawn is everything all right?" he asked sounded concerned

" Well, I just got a call from the Dancing with the Stars producer." I said

" Well what did he want?" Mom asked

" They are having an all stars season and asked me to be apart of the cast." I said in a whisper kind of scared of what there going to say. All though I'm 20 there opinion still means the world to me.

" Well that is great!" My mom said

" I agree, I think it will be a wonderful opportunity for you. You will have something to keep you busy and your mind off all this publicity about your retirement." he said

" I would love to do it, the only thing I'm worried about is my knee. I have had so many problems with it and I guess I'm just worried it will keep me from showing my full ability." I explained

" That is just something you will have to put faith and hope into God. Everything happens for a reason and maybe you didn't get your Olympics redemption, because God had another plan for you." mom said

" Your mother is right. It will be great for you to get back to dancing. You love to dance and are very good at it. This competition will maybe give you something to look forward too and something to strive for." dad said

" I think you are both right. I think I am going to do it." I said

" That is great." they both said

" I am going to get of here and call him back and let him know my answer and maybe get some more information." I explained

" All right sweetie, Love you." they both exclaimed

" Love you too, bye" I said

As the phone is ringing calling the producer I start to get a little bit nervous. I wonder who my partner will be and if I will have Mark again or get to have a new partner? I wonder who the rest of the cast will be? My thoughts get interrupted when I hear " Well Miss Johnson I see you have made a decision." he said

" Yes I have, I… would love to do it!" I practically yelled into the phone.

" That is great! I am so happy you said yes! Do you have any questions?" he asked

" I only have a couple. Will I have the same partner, and when do we begin practice?" I asked

" I'm not sure, we still haven't got answers from some of the cast so I don't really know everybody yet. As soon as we have heard from everybody we will do the partnering, then we will start practices as soon as possible. I gave the reaming people one week to make up their mind so by the end of this week or earlier you will know your partner. We already have some kind of idea, but I cant say anything." he explained

" I understand, and thank you so much for giving me this opportunity once again. I will let you go. Bye." I said

" No Miss Johnson, thank you. Bye." he said

I hung up the phone and I still have to go to the Today Show and do an interview about my book and my just announced retirement. I am really nervous about the interview. I hope I don't cry, and I have to keep this big secret about Dancing with the Stars.

4 hours later and am on my way to get something to eat. I just finished my interview and thankfully I didn't cry. I came close. Talking about this is so hard I've known I was going to have to retire for a couple of weeks and dreaded when I was going to have to talk about it with strangers. I didn't notice till know, but my stomach is growling I think I'm going to stop somewhere and get something to eat. I guess I was so nervous I forgot to eat.

I walk in and place my order. I take a seat waiting on my order. I am playing on my phone when I hear a familiar voice say my name. I look up and none other then Mark Ballas is standing in front of me.

" Oh my goodness, Mark!" I yell

" Shawn! What are you doing here?"

" I am in New York doing an interview for the Today Show and go a little hungry so I stopped by here. What are you doing here?" I asked

" I stopped by to get something to eat also. We should sit down and catch up. If you have time of course." he asked

" Of course. " I say

" Order 200" I hear

" That's mine I will be right back." I say

I leave to go get my food. When I get back I see Mark has a blonde head guy sitting beside him. They both turn around when they hear me walk up. The guy beside him is none other than Derek Hough.

" Well hello there." he says

" Hi" I say kind of nervous I always found him so attractive

" So, how is your life going?" Mark asked

" Well, I've had better days but I got an interesting phone call this afternoon. Other then that my day has been awful." I explain

" Why has it been awful?" Mark asks looking concerned

" I had to sit at the show for 4 hours getting my make up and hair done. Not that I'm complaining, but I was there that long to do a 10 minute interview about my book and my gymnastics retirement." I explained

" I bet it sucks to have to talk about that. I'm sorry." he said

" It's okay. Thank you, what are you guys doing in New York." I asked looking at Derek

" Well Dancing with the Stars is coming up in a couple months so we will be tied up and Mark and I just decided to go on a road trip. Well of course we flew and didn't drive." Derek explained

" Speaking of that I got a call today to be on the All Stars cast. I probably wasn't suppose to say anything, but I know you guys won't tell anyone. Frankly he didn't say not to say anything." I said chuckling a bit

" Really, Shawn that is great! Maybe we can be partners again." Mark said

" Yes, that would be great. I am really excited you know just kind of nervous about my knee. But I think it will hold up." I said

" I wondered if you were going to say anything about it. I talked to the producer a couple days ago and he said he was going to ask you to come back. I told him he would be making a great choice asking you." Derek said

" Thank you, and of course I said yes. I just had to have a little bit to think about it." I said blushing a little bit.

" Anytime." Derek said smiling

" Did he mention anyone else?" I asked

" No." he said

" Dang I wondered who all they asked? He said he had to have the answer buy the end of the week. Then they would partner us up." I said

" I've been wondering too." Mark said

2 hours passed and we were the only 3 customers left in the little café. Time flies by when your having fun. It was 11:00 and I was exhausted.

" I think I'm going to head out. It is getting late and I have a early flight back home in the morning. I will see you guys in a couple of weeks." I said

" Bye." they both said

I hugged them both and got in my car and headed back to my suit. 6:00 was going to some early.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I arrive back in Iowa and I am super tired. I take a nap and wake up to find 5 missed calls. Three from mom, two from dad, and one from a number I do not recognize. I call it first, and recognize the voice immediately it's the producer.

" Hello" he said

" Hi, how are you?" I asked

" I'm doing just great. Glad you returned my phone call. I was getting a little worried that you might have changed your mind."

" No, never. I am so excited about doing this. I was in New York yesterday and came home earlier today. I was super tired and took a nap. I just seen where you called." I said

" We have heard from the rest of the cast members and have selected your partners. I hope you will be very happy with who you get. I can either tell you or you can wait to hear from your partner." he explained

" I want you to tell me." I said

" Okay, you have a different partner." he whispered

I gasp " Oh my goodness! Who!"

" Derek Hough" he said

I let go of the breath I didn't realize I was holding. Even though I didn't get Mark I'm happy with Derek.

" That's great! I yell

" Really?" he asks

" Yes! If I couldn't have got Mark I wouldn't have wanted any other person. Derek most of the time always does good with his partners and treats them well." I said

" Very true. I just want to make sure that your not mad you didn't get Mark again." he said

" No I am not mad. It is fine. Thank you for being so concerned. I say

" Well Miss Johnson I am going to get off here and you will most likely hear from your partner with in a day or two. Then, you will get some papers that need your signature. Lastly, you will need to find a place to stay in L.A. and then practices will start." he said

" Okay, thank you so much. Bye." I say

" Your very welcome. Bye" he replies

Two days later I am still waiting for Derek to call. I have not heard from Mark either I bet he is mad. Maybe this is a good thing we didn't get partnered with each other again but then again I won with him. Oh well I guess I cant do anything about it. Now that I think about it I might not want to change anything. It will be a change to have someone new and I like change. I got the papers yesterday and have signed them and filled everything out. I am going to stay in the same apartment that I stayed in during season 8. My mom and dad were both shocked to find out I didn't get Mark. They thought I would have and it would have been better if I had. I told them that Derek was a great teacher, and that everything happens for a reason. I decide to go to the gym and work out. While I am driving down the road my phone rings. I do not recognize the number, but I know its not the producer. I saved his number. I really hope it is Derek so we can start practice and I can go back to L.A.

" Hello" I say

" Yes, is this Shawn Johnson? This is Derek Hough."

" Yes, this is her. I am so glad you called." I say a little embarrassed

" I have been very busy trying to get everything ready for the show. I am sorry I didn't call you earlier."

" It's fine. So what do you think about them pairing us up?" I ask

" I actually am stoked, I honestly thought you were going to be Mark's partner again. How do you feel about it?" he ask

" I was shocked, but I am happy and I think it is going to be a great season. I say

" I think this season is going to be wonderful! When are you coming to L.A.? he ask

" In about three or four days. Have you talked to Mark?" I ask

" Yes, he was upset. You will never guess who he got."

" Who?" I ask

" Bristol Palin"

" Oh I bet he is upset. Do we have to do any interviews, or are we going to be on a show when they announce the pros and contestants?"

" I'm sure we will have to. I just not sure when. It won't be too long. We will have lots of interviews for the first couple of weeks." he says

" Okay, that doesn't sound to bad. I can hear them now. How does it feel dancing with Derek and not Mark? What was your reaction when you found out?" I say laughing

" Yes, it will be bizarre. But everything will be okay. I'm ready to get to practice, and start our first dance." he says

" Me too! I a excited. I haven't danced in so long." I say

" That's okay, not many people keep dancing once the show is over." he says

" Well that makes me feel better." I say

" You have nothing to worry about. You are a amazing dancer. Sometimes I couldn't tell who the pro was. You or Mark." he says

" Thank you" I say blushing

" Well I was just going to call and let you know the plan and what was going on. Again I am sorry for not calling any sooner." he says

" It is fine. You don't have to apologize. I will see you in a few days. "Bye" I say

" Bye" he replies

He makes me blush over the phone I can only wonder how practice will be. I was excited before and that phone call just made me more excited. The whole time I was working out dancing with Derek is the only thing I could think of. Is that bad? I hope not. Maybe I shouldn't have this little crush on him being the huge age difference. How could I not though. He has such a nice body, perfect hair, great smile, and awesome sense of humor. I hope these next few days fly by.

I moved out of my parents house a while back and I don't have much in my apartment so the only thing I am going to bring are clothes. I wish I could bring my dog, but it has to stay here with my mom and dad. Besides having a new partner this experience will be different. My mom wont be with me since I am twenty. It will be weird not seeing them everyday, or having her in rehearsals. I feel like I am growing up so much more and I'm happy I will be more independent this season.

The next three days fly by. I have said my goodbyes and boarding the plane. I am so nervous but yet so excited. I talked to Derek yesterday and he is meeting me at the airport. I have to go straight to my apartment drop off my luggage then have an interview. We have a promo shoot later for the show. I have a busy day ahead. By the end of the week practices will be starting up.

I slept the whole way to L.A. It was the best I have slept in days. I'm coming off the plane when I see Derek walking my way.

" Hey" I say as I am giving him a hug. I can feel his abs through his shirt.

" Hey, did you have a good flight?" he ask

" Great, slept the whole way here." I say

" Good, glad you got rest. We have a busy day ahead. I drove my car instead of having a limo. We can stop by your apartment and drop your luggage off. If you want to." he says

" That is fine with me. I will have to go rent a car when I have time."

We're riding down the road not much talking going on. Derek has a nice car. I surprised all my luggage fit in it. He has sang the whole time we have been in the car. I never noticed how great his voice was.

" Derek, I never knew you could sing." I say

" Yeah, I have been singing for a while I love it but not as much as dancing." he says

" You have a really good voice."

" Thank you" he says

" Anytime." I reply

We arrive at my apartment and we get all the luggage out of the car. I give him tour of it.

" Derek I have got to change. I will be right back. Just make yourself at home." I say

" Okay" he says

I am ready to get this day going. I hope the interviews won't be awkward. I don't think it will though. Derek and I have a lot in common. I have no idea what I'm going to wear. It has to be Hollywood style, but classy also. It takes me thirty minutes to change. I walk out of my bedroom to see Derek sitting on the couch watching TV. I guess he did make himself at home, but I told him too.

" You ready?" I ask

" Yes, and you look very pretty." he says

" Thank you." I say blushing I was wearing a red dress that fit my curves and was at a reasonable length.

" Anytime" he says

We arrive at ABC to do the interview and there is this awkward tension when we walk in and see Mark. I haven't spoken to him since I seen him in New York. Before I have time to say anything I am getting pulled in the hair and make-up room. I wonder if this is awkward for Derek since they are befriends and all. It takes them an hour or so to do my make-up. I thought I would have time to talk to Mark, but the interview is starting.

After the interview, I finally get to talk to Mark.

" Hey" I say

" Hi" he says giving me a hug

" How are you? I ask still feeling awkward

" Pretty good, how about you?" he asks

" Good, I got my apartment and all my luggage into it." I say

" Have you got a car yet?" he ask

" No not yet. But Derek picked me up from the airport and took me home and then brought me here. He is taking me back home I think." I say

" Oh" he says

I think that made the tension grow. We just silently stand there smiling at each other. I hope Derek comes and says he is ready to go. As if he read my mind I see him walking towards me.

" Are you ready?" he ask

" Yeah I am exhausted, but we still have the promo shoot." I say

" Then we better get going." he says

" Bye Mark " we both say and exchange hugs

It doesn't take long to do the promo shoot. It was fun. Derek and I have a lot of chemistry which works out well. So far we have got along great. No arguments or disagreement about anything. We are on our way back to my apartment.

" Do you feel awkward around Mark?" I ask looking him in the eye

" Not really, we are so close. Do you feel awkward?" he asks

" A little bit. But I think it will go away." I say

We arrive at my building. I am getting out of the car and I see that Derek did too.

" I will walk you up." he says

" Okay thank you." I say

We ride up the elevator I complete silence he walks me to my door and says " I will see you tomorrow for practice" he says

" Okay. What time?" I ask

" Since it is the first day we will have a long one. We will start at 9:00am and maybe be over before 3:00. It depends on how you pick up the steps and what you remember." he says

" Okay. Thank you for driving me around today" I say laughing

" Your welcome. I will see you tomorrow" he says

" Bye "

" Bye "

I close my door. I can not wait till tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

Author note: Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback! It means so much to me. This is the first story I have ever wrote. I hope you all are enjoying it. I will have chapter 4 up before Friday - Mallory

Chapter 3

I wake up in the best mood. I am so excited about practice today, and I get to see Derek again. I think I have always found him attractive. Even back in season eight. I have a shower and my make-up done fixing to walk out the door. Then I realize I don't have a car. Great. I guess I will have to call Derek and ask him to swing by here. I can't believe I forgot to call the dealership. He probably will think I am irresponsible. Fantastic.

" Hello" he answers on the second ring. His voice is groggy like I woke him up. Oops.

" Hi, did I wake you up?" I ask

" No, I was fixing to head to the studio for practice." he says

" Can I ask you a favor?" I whisper

" What do you need?" he ask

" I realized as I was fixing to leave that I have no car. Do you care to stop by here and pick me up?" I say quietly

" I don't mind. I will be there in ten or so minutes."

" Okay, thank you so much."

" Your welcome, I will see you in a minute. Bye"

" Okay, Bye"

I've been sitting on the couch watching TV for five or so minutes. I hear the doorbell ring. I get up and look through the eye hole and see Derek. He is a little early. But I'm not complaining. I am just glad he is picking me up. I open the door and see Derek standing there with his hands in his pocket. He is wearing peachy colored pants, a white t-shirt, and leather jacket. He has his sunglasses pushed up on top of his head. He looks like he just stepped out of a magazine, and he looks better than ever.

" Hey" I say still gazing at his gorgeous body.

" Hey, you ready?" he ask

" Yeah, just let me grab my bag." I say

" Okay, I will wait for you at the elevator." he says

I walk out of the apartment heading towards the elevator. We hear it ding and I walk in first. We both reach to touch the button to go to the ground floor. Our hands brush pass each other. Derek has extremely warm hands. I look up and he is smirking. I immediately start blushing. We get in the car and the tension that was there goes away when he starts talking.

" Are you liking LA? I know you have been here before, but do you like it?" he ask

" Yeah, I love it. Besides by hometown this is my favorite place to go. Especially when I want to go hiking or exploring. I love to go walking or running up trails and discovering things you never would have none was back there." I say

" That's is awesome. I love to go hiking too. We should go together some time." he says

" That sounds great to me. Do you ever get tired of the craziness that goes on in LA? And the paparazzi following your every move?" I ask

" Not really, I knew when I signed up to be a pro on the show that it goes with it. It doesn't bother me anymore. Before I was on the show Julianne and I would hang out ,and the paps would follow us. he says

" I guess just being in Iowa and coming back here I am still not used to it." I say shyly

" Well maybe that will change. They are going to be following us around for a while." he says

" I hope so." I say

We arrive at the studio before I know it. I guess time flies when your talking. I get out of the car and the paparazzi are surrounding us. They are asking tons of questions. I just try to keep the plastered smile on my face. I notice that Derek was telling the truth, he really don't mind them. He is smiling and answering question like he really knew them. They have a lot of questions for us. I don't know how much he could be telling them. This is our first practice. We walk into the studio and the place looks great. I love that the other cast members will be practicing at the same place. We find the room that we are suppose to be practicing in. There are cameras set up everywhere. There are some in the corner of the wall, in the wall, and one on a table that looks pretty heavy and expensive. There is nobody else in the room but us. Derek goes to the radio and puts in a cd and I go and set my bag on the floor. A man walks in. He has a fanny pack on and looks like a important guy.

" Hey, Derek and Shawn. I am Matt." hey says

" Hey" we both say

" I am the guy over the recording of the practices and I need to tape the first time that you see each other."

" Okay. What do you need us to do?" Derek ask

" Shawn go outside, when I say action your going to walk in and act like this is your first meeting. Derek I need you to be doing something and then hear a knock and turn around. Got it?" he ask

" Got it." we say

I walk outside. I hear him say action so I knock on the door and walk in.

" Derek" I yell

" Shawn!" he yells as he is picking me up and giving me a hug.

Dang he smells good. They say cut and he sets me down. Matt leaves but keeps the cameras on. It feels weird to not have anyone in here with us. My mom was with me all the time last time. Mark and I were never alone. I feel more independent.

" I found out what song and dance we got for the first week." Derek says

" What song and dance?" I ask

" The foxtrot and the song is Good Time." he say smiling

" I love that song." I say

" Me too, so lets get started. The choreograph is not very hard. I made it up this morning once I new the song and dance style." He says

" Okay, lets get started then." I say

Derek starts smiling " I love the enthusiasm!"

" I am excited." I say

" Since you have done this before you know the basics. I don't think I am going to have to teach you how to walk in heels. Am I?" he ask

" No, I don't think so." I say laughing

" Okay good." he says smiling

We have practiced for two hours and I am starving. My stomach is growling. I hope Derek cant hear it. I didn't eat breakfast this morning. I probably should have. Derek is explaining some of the dance to me when I hear his stomach growling.

" Are you hungry?" I say laughing

" Umm, just a little bit." he says smiling

" Do you want to go get something to eat?" I ask

" That sounds fantastic. Where do you want to go. I will drive us of course." he says smirking

" That little café about ten minutes from here." I say smiling

" Alright, well lets go."

It only take us five or some minutes till we reach the café. There are not many people in the building. Which is good. We walk in and hear gasps and " oh my goodness's" from the workers, I start laughing. Derek follows shortly after. A woman waiting tables start whistling at Derek. He starts blushing. That is the first time I have ever seen him blush. I can't help but laugh. We walk to wait in line. There is a little girl and her mother in line in front of us. The little girl keeps looking back at Derek and grinning. If she grinned any wider her face would break.

I get on my tippy toes and whisper in his ear " That little girl really likes you."

" I have noticed." he says laughing

He taps the little girls shoulder, " Would you like a picture?" he ask her

" Yes!" the girl screams

Her mom gets ready to take the picture then the little girl ask me "Would you be in the picture too?"

" Of course." I say

Derek is standing on the right side of her body. I walk over to the left side. I wrap my arm around her little back. Derek's arm goes on top of mine. I am glad he didn't wear his jacket. His arm is so warm on top of mine.

" Thank you so much." the girl says.

" Of course." we say

" Are you ready to order?" Derek ask

" Yeah."

" What would you like?" the man behind the cash register asks

Derek looks at me. " Go ahead, I'm not sure what I want." I say

" Okay, I want a ham, turkey, and cheese sand which." Derek tells him

" And for you ma'am?" he ask

" We are on separate orders." I say

" No we aren't. Shawn I got it." he says pulling out his credit card

" No, its fine. You already have to drive me around." I say pulling out my wallet.

" Am I complaining? No, Shawn it is just a sand which." he says taking my wallet out of my hand while laughing

" Fine, I want the same thing."

" We also need to bottles of water." Derek says

" Okay, for here or to go?" he ask

" To go." Derek says

" Your total is $15.00."

Derek hands him his card. The man takes it and we move to sit down at a table waiting for our food.

" I've got to use the bathroom. I will be right back" Derek says

" Okay." I say

I watch him till he disappears. He walks so smoothly and gracefully. I cant believe he paid for my lunch. He should have let me pay for it. It's the least I could do. I am not going to complain though, he was very gentleman like paying for it. Thinking about him driving me around, I see a phone book on the table beside us. I look up a car dealer ship's number and call it.

" Thank you for calling Bobby's Dealership how may I help you?"

I see Derek walking towards me from the bathroom. He sits down in the chair across from me.

" Yes, this is Shawn Johnson. Do you let people come by and rent cars? I ask

" Why yes Miss Johnson, how long will you need it?" he ask

" I am not sure. I am on Dancing with the Stars and we are not guaranteed a specific time there. I will definitely need it for a week." I say

" And what kind of car would you like?" he ask

" An Altima coupe." I say

" Alright, we will need you to come by and fill out papers. Then you can rent it. In the contract you will have the car as long as you need it. I don't think a girl like you is going to steal it." he says

" No, of course not. I have practice and will come call you when I have time to come get it." I say

" Okay, I will talk to you then."

" Okay, bye" I say

I click end and look up at Derek. He is not sitting there. I get up and see him getting our food. I guess I didn't hear them call our name. He is holding the bag and two bottles of water. I walk up and grab the waters.

" Thanks" he says

" Your Welcome." I say

We walk out to the car. Derek starts eating. " Are you not going to eat after I paid fifteen dollars for our food?" he asks laughing

" Yes, I just don't want to get your car dirty." I say

" Oh you won't hurt her. She has been through a lot." he says

" Okay."

I start eating, by that time he is already done. I guess he was starving.

" Can I ask you one tiny favor?" I ask

" You want me to take you by the car dealership." he says smiling

" Yes, that will be the last time you have to drive me around." I say laughing

" I don't mind it. And sure I will." he says

" Okay thank you."

" Anytime"

We arrive at the studio there are not as many paps out here as there was. We walk in and Derek starts doing our dance. He does the whole routine with ease. It looks great. Of course he looks good dancing too. We practice for three more hours. We have done five total hours which is not bad. You usually do more. Especially on your first day. I got over half of the dance down great. I learned it better then I thought I would. The producers changed a few things this season. You usually have three weeks to learn the first dance. Since this is All Star season we have one week just like any other week in the season. I am actually happy though, we don't have to wait as long to perform it. Practice is over for today. Derek is soaked in sweat. Which I am not complaining about at all. He looks so much better soaked in sweat.

" Are you ready to go to the dealership?" Derek ask

" Yeah." I say

We get in the car and drive. The dealership is not very far away and we get there in no time. I walk in with Derek and the receptionist ask " Can I help you?"

" Yeah, I talked to a man earlier today about renting a car." I say

" Okay and your name?" she ask

" Shawn Johnson" I whisper

She is typing it in the computer and looks up.

" I will be right back." she says

" Okay." I say

She comes back seconds later with a man.

" Yes, I am Bobby. The owner. If you come with me I will get your paper work and show you your car." he says

" Okay, are you coming? I ask Derek

" Nah. I will just wait here."

" Okay, I don't mind if you want to." I say

" Okay, I will come with you.:" he says smiling

We walk in this big office and there are two big chairs in front of the desk. One chair behind the desk.

" You can sit here." he points to the two big chairs

We both take a seat in them.

" Okay I need you signature here, here, and here." he says turning the pages.

" Okay." I say signing the papers.

We follow the man outside and I see my car sitting there. He hands me the keys. It is a nice car. I love it. It is a blackish bluish color. I go and get in it. I roll down the window and motion for Derek to come.

" Get in. I will drive you to your car." I say

" Okay." he says

I drive around to the front of the store and park.

" I like this car." Derek says

" Me too, what time is practice tomorrow?" I ask

" Lets go at nine a.m." he says

" Okay." I say

He opens the door and steps out. " I will see you tomorrow." he says

" Okay, bye."

" Bye." he says and closes the door. I drive home thinking about everything that has happened.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I wake up and roll over to see what time it is. My clock reads 7:30. I have another hour I could be sleeping. I might as well get up. I haven't talked to my mom in two or three days. That is probably the longest I have gone without talking to her. I wonder if she is awake. Might as well find out. I call her and she answers on the second ring.

" Hey, Shawn."

" Hey mom, what are you doing?"

" Fixing to go to work. What are you doing?"

" Nothing, I just woke up. I have practice at nine."

" What are you doing up?"

" I woke up and I know I wont be able to go back to sleep."

" How are practices going?"

" Good, we are both so excited. The first show is Monday are you and dad coming?"

" Of course, we are thrilled we're finally going to get to see you dance again. We have missed you."

" I have missed ya'll too."

" Are you learning your dance pretty good?"

" So far yes, I have learned half of it. But we have only had one practice so I still have a lot to learn. But our song is really good."

" Have you talked to Ryan any?"

My smiling face fell when she asked me this. I hated talking out my ex-boyfriend. We have had a lot of ups and downs. We have been through a lot together. We broke a couple months ago. He cheated on me. I have not talked to him since I threw a remote control at him and walked out of our apartment. I changed my locks, phone number, and moved my stuff out of the apartment.

" No, mom I haven't seen nor talked to him in months."

" Well that is good. You can do so much better than him. And you do not need all that drama that comes with dating him."

" I agree completely. I am going to take a shower I will talk to you later."

" Okay, love you."

" Love you too."

I hang up the phone. I need a hot shower to get my mind off Ryan. He is the last person I need to be thinking about right now. You would think after everything he did to me I wouldn't still care about him. But I do. I don't think I would ever get back together with him, but I still care about him. I am surprised he hasn't contacted me yet. We broke up before I got offered to dance. I am sure somebody has told him about it and that I am in LA now.

I take the longest shower I have ever taken before. It was so relaxing. I get dressed and get my make up on. I'm wearing a tight orange Nike tank top, Capri yoga pants, and bright neon orange Nike tennis shoes to match my tank top. I look at my phone and it is only 8:00. Another hour till practice starts. I think I will head to the studio and stretch. Maybe that will make time pass. When Derek gets there we can begin and he won't have to wait on me. I have always grew up stretching before you do any kind of physically activity. I should probably text Derek and let him know. I bet he is still asleep so I will just text him, I wouldn't want to wake him up.

" _I am going to head to the studio a bit early and start stretching. I will see you when you get there. : )" _

I get my bag and walk out the door. I see a man mid thirties waiting for the elevator. It dings and I step in first.

" What floor?" he asks

" Ground." I say

I walk out the apartment building heading towards my car. There are two or three paparazzi waiting outside. I smile at them, this time a real smile. They don't bother me as long as they aren't shoving the camera in my face or are surrounding me. I don't like being in small places with a lot of people. I get in my new car, and plug my phone into the radio and turn my Pandora on the county station.

It doesn't take me long to get there. I am glad my apartment isn't far from the studio. There are more paparazzi outside waiting, but they aren't that bad. I smile knowing these pictures will end up in a magazine or on the internet. I walk into our studio we practiced in yesterday. This time the cameras are not in there. I guess they only have them in there when they need a segment for the show. I sit my bag down on the steps and pull out my headphones. I hear my phone dig across the room. I walk over to look at it and Derek has replied to my message.

" _Okay, I will see you there in a little bit." _

I guess he just woke up. He will be at least thirty minutes, or so. I have plenty of time to stretch. I put my headphones in my ears and turn up the volume as loud as it will go. I sit down and put my legs together. I can reach my toes with ease. I spread them apart and reach for my right foot, then my left. I do a couple more stretches. When I look up from the ground I see a person in all black with a mask on pointing a gun at me.

_A/n I know I left a cliff hanger. I had to have a little bit more drama in it. When I talk about her and Ryan's past, I am not sure if they are dating or not. I hope not though. I am just making up most of the things as I go. I hope you like this chapter. Not much of her and Derek but there will be next chapter. I will not make you wait long for the next chapter, I will have it up tonight. - Mallory _


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Flashback

_I look up and see a man dressed in all black with a mask covering his face. He is holding a gun at my head._

Oh my goodness! What is going on? What does he want? feel like my heart is going to beat out of my chest.

" Don't say a word, or I will shoot you."

I don't say a word. My mouth is so dry and I don't have the nerve to say anything.

" I don't want to hurt you. But your going to do as I say and you won't get hurt."

This is so scary. I hope he just gets what ever he comes after and then leaves. I wonder how he got in here. The questions I want answered are endless.

" Stand up."

I do as I am told. He turn around to see if anybody is coming and I make a break for it. I start running for my life. I have no where else to go, but the bathroom. I guess this is better than anything. I am running and before I know it. I have been hit with something. I am not sure what he hit me with, but it hurt bad. I am not fully unconscious but I am a little out of it. I feel him lifting me up and then sitting me back down. I wish I knew who he was. My head fills like it is going to explode. I open my eyes a little bit and see him digging in his pocket. He gets some rope out and ties my hands together, then my feet. He gets some duct tape out and puts a piece around my mouth.

" That was a stupid mistake. You are going to regret it."

This rope is tied so tight my hand and feet feel like they are going to fall off. My head is hurting like I have been drinking all day and night, then woke up with a bad hangover. I am going to try and behave I don't want him to hurt me physically anymore. The only hope I have is Derek coming and saving me. I open my eyes again and see nobody in the room. Maybe he has left. I am getting ready to stand up when I see him coming back. Great. He has a cloth and a napkin in his hands. This cant be good. He take off the duct tape across my mouth. I cry out loud that hurt like crazy.

" I am going to put this over your mouth. You will pass out. Who knows if anyone will find you or if you will die. I told you I didn't want to hurt you, but you couldn't just stand there. I will never see you again."

He brings the napkin towards my face. Oh no. I hope Derek finds me.

" No, please!" I whisper

" Too late."

The last thing I see is him digging in my purse and taking some money out of wallet then walking out the door. I lay there for what seems like eternity then all I see is blackness.

I hear a familiar voice and a woman talking. Then maybe in the background I hear another voice, but I am not sure. I realize that I am conscious enough to wake up. My head hurts and I my wrist are hurting. I open my eyes and see Derek. Thank goodness. I see him talking to the nurse outside of the door.

" Derek" I muster up. My voice is weak from my mouth being so dry.

Derek comes running over to me. I see the nurse walking not far behind him. He engulfs me in a hug. I am so glad to see him. I didn't think I was going to see him or anyone else again.

" Shawn, I am so glad you are awake."

" Me too, I though I was going to die."

We are interrupted when the nurse starts talking. " Excuse me, I hate to interrupt but I need to check you out. You were hit pretty hard over the head. Do you remember anything."

" I remember everything I think. I explain all about my morning and talking to my mom, and going to the studio, and stretching then seeing the guy. As I am explaining I see Derek cringe when I start talking about getting hit and getting my hands ties up along with my feet.

" Do you know who he was?" the nurse asks

" No, he had on a mask. He was dressed in all black too."

" Okay, the police wants to ask you a few questions when I get done examining you."

" Can that not wait. She just woke up not even five minutes ago." Derek pipes in

" She will have to discuss that with the officer outside."

I do not argue with either one. I agree with Derek. I would just like a minute of piece in quiet with Derek. With him having his huge arms wrapped around my little body. It is amazing how you can like someone so much in such little time of knowing them. I have always liked him and have known him a while. I just feel so much closer to him then I did. The nurse take my blood pressure which is high of course and my blood. She checks my head and I have a gash. It must have not been deep enough to get stitches.

" I will go tell the officer you are awake. I will also tell the family members in the waiting room."

" Okay"

Derek doesn't waste anytime. He comes over and sits on the side of my bed. He puts a piece of hair behind my ear that was falling in my face. I just want to reach up and kiss him but I refrain. " Have you told my parents?"

" Yes, since we were not married or family I had a pretty hard time telling them your info. I just explained who you were and your situation. While the ambulance was putting you on the stretcher I called your mom. She was freaking out of course. She said her and your dad would be on the next flight here."

" Okay, do you know when they will arrive?"

" No."

" Okay, how did I get here?"

" I got to the studio and all I seen in the parking lot was your car and paparazzi. I walked in and seen you laying on the floor. I ran over to you and see your head bleeding and called 911. You hadn't been in here long before you woke up. It was the scariest thing I have walked in on."

" I know, it was the scariest thing I have ever been in. I thought I was going to die."

That is all it takes and hugs me tightly. I try so hard not to cry and to be strong. The tears just start coming no matter how hard I try. We hear a nock at the door and Derek doesn't pull away he just says come in. I see Mark walk in.

" Shawn!"

" Hey, Mark." I say still not letting go of Derek. I just cant get myself to let go.

" How are you feeling?"

" Alright, I have been better. My head it hurting a bit."

" Do you want me to ask the nurse if you can I have something for pain?" Mark ask

" Please." I say

" Shawn, we are going to suffocate each other." Derek says chuckling

" I know, but I don't want to let go." I whisper

" I understand. I don't want to either."

We hear another nock on the door.

" Come in." I say

We see two police officers walk in. Great. I reluctantly let go of Derek. He turns around too see who it is and rolls his eyes.

" Hello Miss Johnson, Mr. Hough sorry to interrupt but I need to ask you some questions."

" Okay, go ahead." I say

He asks me tons of questions I answer to the best of my ability. He then ask Derek. They record our comments.

" Thank you both so much. I will get the nurse."

" Okay, thanks." Derek says

Mark walks back in with the nurse. He comes up and gives me a hug. I haven't seen him in so long. Its nice to see him.

" Here is you some medicine, it will make you sleepy. But you need your rest. I need one guy to leave. Unless your family or parent only one person can be in here."

" Derek, will you stay in here with me?" I ask smiling from ear to ear

" Of course." He whispers

" I will see you later Shawn. Bye Derek." Mark says

" Bye" we say in unison

I take the medicine and I am getting sleepy but I want Derek to stay. I try to stay awake.

" Shawn, you need to rest. Your going to need all your energy."

" I know. Will you lay down with me?" I ask nervously

" Yes. If you will go to sleep." he says grinning

He turns over on his back, then puts his arm behind my head. I lay my head on his chest and wrap my arm around his body. We both fall asleep very easily.

A/n- if there are any mistakes I am sorry. I was in a hurry writing and didn't have time to read over it. Hope you enjoy the chapter. - Mallory


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 **

I wake up from my nap and I really need to pee. I don't want to get up in case I wake Derek up. I look up at him he is sleeping so peaceful. I take my arm off his chest and quietly get up. I make my way to the bathroom. I come back and Derek is laying flat on his back playing with his phone. Dang I didn't mean to wake him up.

" Hey" I say quietly

" Hey, how are you feeling?" he asks

" Better, my head isn't hurting as bad as it was." I walk back over to the bed and lay down. Derek rolls over on his side, I roll over on mine. We lay facing each other with his arm slung over my body.

" That is fantastic. Are you thirsty or do you want anything?"

" I am a little thirsty."

" I will go get you something. What do you want?"

" A water would be great."

" Okay, I will be right back."

Derek gets up and leaves the room. I need to call my mom. There really is no reason for her and dad to fly here when I am feeling better. It would be a waste of money I will see them in a few days anyways. They don't need to miss work either. I call her and she answers on the first ring.

" Hello." she says

" Hey mom."

" Honey how are you feeling."

" Better, my head was hurting earlier but the nurse gave me some medicine. I would have called you sooner but I was asleep."

" It's okay I figured you were napping."

" So mom, I don't think you and dad need to come down here."

" Why not?"

" Well I am feeling better. Derek is taking great care of me and I have Mark that was here earlier. I just have a little scrape on my head. It's not that big of deal." I say. Derek walks back in the room with my water in his hand.

" Shawn what happened was a big deal and is not okay. You could have been hurt really bad."

" I know mom, but I wasn't. I am fine and feeling better. I am most likely getting discharged from the hospital tonight. It will be a waste of money for you to come down here. You would be missing work too."

" Shawn work doesn't matter right now. All that matters is you and your safety. I guess I will wait a day or two, but I will be coming earlier."

" Okay, it would be better for you and dad. You would be in a hotel are in my apartment all week missing work. I appreciate you both for wanting to come down and being worried, but I am fine."

" I will let you go and you get some rest. I will talk to you later. Love you."

" Love you too mom."

As soon as I get off the phone I take the water sitting on the table and chug it. I am so thirsty. The water taste so good. Out of the corner of my eye I see Derek laughing at me.

" Are your mom and dad coming down?" he ask

" No I convinced her I was fine and that she didn't need to come. I am going to see them both in a couple of days anyways."

Before Derek can reply there is a knock on the door. The nurse walks in with a blood pressure cup and two needles.

" How are you feeling?" she asks very kindly

I have a feeling I'm going to get tired of being asked that.

" Better, my head quit hurting."

" That is fabulous. I am going to take your blood pressure and draw some blood. We will have the doctor come check on you later today. You might get to go home or you may have to stay a little while longer."

" Okay."

She puts the cuff around my arm and starts squeezing the ball. It gets huge and I feel like my arm is fixing to pop.

" Your blood pressure is fine. It was really high earlier, it's a great sign that it went down. Now I am going to take your blood."

Great. I have always been a queasy person when it comes to blood. I hope I don't throw up. She takes my arm and tightly wraps a rubber band around it. She ties it in a bow.

" I can't find a vein. I don't want to stick you unless I know for sure I can get blood."

" That would be greatly appreciated." I say laughing

" Okay, I found one in your left hand. Are you ready?"

" Yeah I guess." I turn my head away from the nurse. I look up at Derek and he is smiling. He sees my discomfort and takes my right hand in his big one. He has such big and muscular hands. He holds my little hand very tightly with his and I feel safe.

" Shawn, just don't look at it, or think about it." Derek says calmly

" Okay,"

" Alright to get you mind off of it we will talk. How do you think you've learned the dance so far."

" Pretty good. I wish we would have been able to practice today." " Yes, me too. But I am just glad your are okay and in one piece. We can practice longer hours this week."

" Me too."

" Alright your all done." the nurse says

Is she serious? Already? Man that was quick. I didn't even feel anything.

" The doctor will be in shortly."

The nurse gets up and leaves. Derek doesn't get up and I don't move. We just lay in bed talking for what seems like hours.

" Derek are you hungry?"

" Yes, I am actually."

" Do you want to go to the cafeteria and get something. I am really tired of just laying in bed."

" That is fine with me. I will go ask the nurse if you can walk."

" You don't have to get up. I will call her."

" Okay."

I pick up the phone and call the nurses desk. I tell them my nurses name and they hand her the phone. I ask her and she says yes but to be sure I don't move around too quickly. I hang the phone up.

" I need to go change out of this gown. I will be right back."

" Okay I will be right here if you need me."

I find my clothes I had on earlier. They are laying on the table. I pick them up and walk into the bathroom. I look at myself in the mirror, I look like a mess. I take off my gown and slip my clothes on. I redo my bun that was falling. I take a towel and wet it. I dab my eyes and cheeks from where my eyeliner has ran from crying earlier. This will have to do. I walk back out of the bathroom. All of a sudden the room starts spinning. Derek is sitting on the bed watching tv.

" Umm Derek?"

" Yeah?"

" Can you come here, the room is kind of going in circles."

He doesn't reply, he gets up and starts making his way over to me. The bathroom is on the other side of the room. I am starting to lean slightly to one side. Its like I have no control over my body. I am about to fall over when Derek comes up and grabs my arm. I get steadied.

" Thanks, it wouldn't have felt to great to fall on my face."

" Your welcome and no that would not have been good." he says smiling

" I guess I should have listened to the nurse when she said not to move around to fast." I say laughing

" Are you okay enough to walk down there? Or do I need to go get it and bring it back?" he asks

" I'm fine. Just a mini episode. We will just have to walk slow until I get something to eat."

He lets go of my arm and grabs my hand. We intertwine our fingers between each others. Our fingers fit perfectly despite the size difference. We walk the whole way and he doesn't let go of my hand. He leads us over the table in the back of the building.

" What do you want to eat? I wouldn't want you to get dizzy again. And before you protest I am buying your food." he says chuckling

" I appreciate it. I would love a hamburger and fries. Water to drink." I say grinning from ear to ear.

" Okay, I will be right back."

" Okay."

Its not long before I see him making his way to the line to check out. It didn't take him very long. I wonder if anybody has recognized him yet. He is wearing some tight black skinny jeans, a white t-shirt, and sneakers. He has a white hat with black writing on backwards. It is holding his long blonde hair back. His hair has got so long. I love it long.

" Miss Johnson, your food." he says laughing

" Thank you. Mr. Hough" I say smiling

" Your welcome. While you were in the bathroom I got a phone call from the police. They caught the man that hurt you." he says with his face in disgust when he says hurt me.

" Well that is great. Does he have any relation to me? I got stalked back in season 8. In the back of my mind I was thinking it was him."

"They didn't give a name. They said they found lots of cash on him and weapons. He has a criminal record for stealing. They think you just were there at the wrong time. They don't think he knew you were going to be there and he was going to hurt you."

" Yeah, he told me that he didn't want to hurt me. That if I behaved he wouldn't do anything."

" Then why did he hit you with the gun?"

" Because he told me to stand up. I did, then he went to look at the door and see if anyone was coming. When he was looking I made a dash for the bathroom and I guess that's when he hit me. Then he tied me up."

" That little mmmm. I am not going to say what I really want to call him."

" Derek, its okay, I am fine and they caught him."

" I am really glad you are okay." He picks up my hand from across the table. He rubs his finger over my knuckles. I start blushing. We talk the whole time we eat. Derek gets up and goes to throw our plates away.

" We should probably get back in case the doctor was to come in." he says

" Yeah, lets go."

He grabs my hand and our fingers intertwine again. I love this feeling. I know I have told him thank you a million times, but I really need to let him know how I feel. But what if he don't feel the same way. He said he thought of me as a little sister, so maybe he is just being protective. I wouldn't want to ruin our blossoming friendship. We walk the whole way back to the room hand in hand. While we our walking back we see the doctor walking out of the room.

" Well hello Miss Johnson. I was just coming to check on you."

" I was starving, we went and got something to eat."

" Okay, I will check you now then." he says smiling

Derek leads me in the room and on to the bed. He goes and sits in the chair beside the bed. The doctor comes in with the nurse we have had all day.

" How are you feeling?"

" Better, now that I have ate."

" That is great. I am going to check your gash on your head. I need you to roll over on your stomach."

I do as I'm told. I feel him taking my bun down and examining the gash.

" You have a pretty big and deep cut. I am going to wrap it, then you can put your hair back up if you would like."

He puts a big bandage on my head then he wraps it in something white.

" You can turn over now."

I roll back over.

" Does this mean I can go back home now?" I ask smiling

" Yes, only on two conditions."

" Anything."

" First, I will be sending you home with some medication for you to take at night. You can take some Advil or Tylenol when your head starts hurting. Only take this at night. It will help you sleep. You have a busy week with the show and practicing, if you need to take some Advil or Tylenol during the day please do. Do not drive once you have taken the medication. I want to see you in one to two weeks to keep a eye on your cut. If it is better then I will take you off the medication. Second, be smart and don't over do it. I know you have missed one day of practice and this is not where you want to be. If you do tricks and flips just be safe and don't land on your head. It could have been worse then what it is now. When you get tired take a break. You don't want to have to quit the season due to a head injury because you didn't do what I said. I will go get you some paperwork and have you sign them. Do you have any questions?"

" So I am cleared to dance just no over doing it and take breaks. Take my meds at night and the others too if my head starts hurting during the day."

" Yes. I will be right back."

" Okay."

The doctor leaves the room. Derek gets up and comes to sit on my bed.

" This is great new. Your released and cleared to dance." he says smiling from ear to ear.

" Yes, and I can go home to my own bed and not be stuck laying down all day."

The doctor comes back in with the paper work. I sign all the papers I need to. I am so ready to get out of this room.

" Thank you and I hope you get better." the doctor says

" No, thank you for taking care of me. My nurse was super nice, caring, and helpful."

" I will see you in a couple of weeks." he says making his way to the door.

" Bye." I say and he is gone.

I get up form the bed and find my purse. I pull out my phone and send a quick text to Mark._" Hey the doctor released me and I am cleared to dance. I have to take some medicine every night and I will come back and see him in a few weeks. Thanks for being so concerned and visiting me. I really appreciate it. Love you." _I press send. It is so nice to have a good friend like Mark.

" Hey Shawn, your car is at the studio. I will take you home."

" Okay, are you ready." I ask him

" Yeah, you?"

" Never been more ready."

We walk out of our room and head to the elevator. The elevator take us to the ground floor. We walk out. Threw the glass walls I see paparazzi standing everywhere.

" Shawn, it will be fine. Here take my hat and pull it down over your eyes. It will keep your eyes from seeing all the flashes."

" Thank you." I take Derek's hat and pull it on my head. I am sure I look bad in this hat but anything to not see all those flashes.

" My car isn't parked far away. We can walk out together if you want to, or I can go get the car and bring it to you."

" Let's go together. We start walking to the door. Derek stops at the door fixing to open it and grabs my hand. Our fingers intertwine again. He opens the door for me I walk through the door way. He never lets go of my hand. As soon as we step outside the paps start going crazy. Asking questions taking tons of pictures. We head towards Derek's car hand in hand. We get there and he unlocks the door and opens it for me. He is such gentleman. He closes my door and gracefully walks around the car to get in. He slides in and starts the car up. I am starting to get really sleepy. The next thing I know we are pulling in my parking deck at the apartment. I guess I fell asleep. Derek turns the car off and before I can get my door open he is already there opening it for me. We walk into my building and go up the elevator. We reach my door.

" Do you want to come in?" I ask shyly

" No, I am going to head home it is really late. Your sleepy anyways. You feel asleep on me in the car." he says smiling

" I am sorry. Just a really long day I guess." Derek turns around to leave I guess now is my chance.

" Hey Derek." I say and he turns around

" Yeah?"

" Thank you for everything today. I don't know what I would have done without you there. I would've been all by myself starving and thirsty. It means so much to me that you stuck around. I am glad I got you as a partner this season. I feel like it was meant to be." I say blushing

" Shawn you are so welcome. I never thought about leaving you once. Seeing you unconscious laying on the floor changed my life." he bends down and gives me a hug. We stand there wrapped in each others arms. I finally let go.

" I will see you tomorrow." I say

" Okay, I look forward to it."

" Bye" I say blushing

" Bye"

I turn around a give him one last look before I walk into my apartment. I take my medicine and go to bed thinking about today's crazy activities.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 **

I wake up to the sound of my phone dinging. I have two messages, one from Mark the other one from Derek. I read the one from Mark first.

" _Shawn I'm so glad your doing better and go released. We should hang out this weekend if you feel like it. Just let me know. Love you." _

I decide not to reply, I will later. Maybe. I open the one from Derek.

" _Shawn, I don't think I ever told you what time practice would be. Since everything happened why don't we go at ten. Is that okay with you?" _

I hit reply

" _Sounds good to me. See you then. : )" _I hit send.

It's 9:00, I have an hour till practice. I get up and take a shower, fix my hair, and put my make-up on. I walk in my closet and find a loose cream colored shirt that hangs off one shoulder, some black Capri yoga pants, and some tennis shoes. I put my clothes and shoes on. I walk into the bathroom, look in my first aid kit and grab a band aid. I take the wrapping off my head, then remove the band aid. I replace it with a new one. My head is surprisingly not hurting, but when you touch the cut it stings a little. I walk into the living room and grab my purse off the coffee table. I throw my dancing shoes, phone charger, and a bottle of Advil in it. I look at the clock and its 9:30. I guess I should leave. I could just wait in the parking lot till Derek showed up. I then realize I don't have a car. Derek brought me home last night and my car is at the studio. Crap. He has done so much for me, I hate to keep asking him for favors. I think I will just call a cab, that way I wont have to ask him again. They only thing is I will most likely be late for practice. I will just call him and explain. He will understand.

" Hey Shawn." Derek says

" Hey Derek."

" What's up?" he asks

" Nothing, I was just going to tell you I am going to call a cab, so I will be a few minutes late for practice."

" Why are you calling a cab?"

" Because my car is at the studio, and I need someone to take me there. But I hate to keep asking you for favors. You have done so much for me."

" Well that someone is me. I am pulling in your parking deck as we speak."

I start grinning from ear to ear. He remembered without me calling and asking him.

" Derek, you didn't have to do that."

" No, your right I didn't, but I wanted to. I am waiting on you come on."

" Okay, bye."

" Bye."

I grab my bag and walk out the door. I go down the elevator and walk out to the parking deck. I see Derek leaning against his car. He is wearing some grey sweatpants and a white tank top. He looks stunning even in sweatpants.

" Well good morning Miss Johnson, you look lovely today." he says grinning

" Thank you Mr. Hough, you look very handsome this morning."

He opens the door for me and I climb in.

" Are you feeling better?" he ask

" Yes, I brought some Advil just in case. I don't think I will need it though. My head isn't hurting so far. The doctor wasn't lying about that medicine. It knocked me out last night. I slept great."

" That is good, you definitely needed the rest after yesterday's activities."

We talk about different things the rest of the way there. It doesn't take long for us to get there. I am super excited about practice.

" Good morning Mr. Hough and Miss. Johnson. We have upped security and I need to see your ID." We both show him our ID and he opens the gate and lets us through. I am glad they are taking precaution now. We get out of the car and walk into the studio. I go to the steps and slip on my heels to dance in. Derek goes and puts the c.d. in the player. I start stretching while he listens to some music.

" Are you ready?" he asks

" Yeah."

" Okay, lets go over what we did the other day."

" Okay."

" You know I never really noticed how short you were until now. And sadly your in heels. I can see straight over your head."

" Yes, I would say 4'9 is pretty short."

" Shawn, Shawn, where are you?" he looks down at me. " Oh gosh, you scared me, there you are, I thought I lost you." he says laughing

I bust out laughing " Haha Derek that was a good one. Never had that one done before."

We go over the steps we learned yesterday. I didn't forget any of them. Derek teaches me some new choreography. The second part of the dance is a little more difficult. We work on it for an hour or so.

" Hey Shawn, do you need to take a break?"

" No, I'm fine."

" Are you sure? You don't need to over do it."

" I'm sure."

We practice for another hour. I have then learned over half of the dance. All we have left is the last 20 seconds.

" You did good today. We accomplished a lot. I don't think I have ever had a partner learn a dance that fast the first week." he says smiling

" I am shocked I'm doing so well. I haven't danced in a long time."

" You still got it. You didn't lose anything."

" Thank you, they haven't asked us to do any taping for the show, that is kind of weird."

" They installed cameras in the wall, they are now on full time. They will then pick the segments they want to use."

" Oh, okay."

I walk over to the steps and check my phone. I have a missed call from my mom. I will call her back later.

" Shawn I'm going to run to that café we went to the other day. Do you want to come with me?"

" Yes, I am driving and paying." I say smiling

" Okay, but only this one time." he says laughing.

A/n I know this is kind of short. Sorry, I will most likely have a new chapter tomorrow. - Mallory


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I walk into the gym Friday morning. This past week has been an crazy. Yesterday's practice was great, I learned the whole dance. Derek is planning on us having a short practice today. My parents are flying down tomorrow around noon. I'm ready to see them, it has been too long. I start stretching when I hear Derek coming in the room.

" Hey Shawn"

" Hey Derek"

He walks over to the steps and puts his bags down. He the goes over to the c.d. player and puts the disk in.

" You ready to get started?"

" Yes."

He pulls me in front of him my back to his front. He puts his arms around my waist. His right arm grabs my left, his left grabs my right. We being to dance. It doesn't take us long to finish the dance.

" Lets run it a couple more times. Then we will be done for today."

" Okay"

We do the dance two more times. I walk over to the steps to take off my shoes.

" Hey are you and Mark hanging out tonight?"

" Yeah, I think we are going to a club."

" Okay, he asked me if I wanted to go and I wasn't sure who all was going."

" I think you, me him, and his girlfriend. A couple more people might meet us there, but we are all riding to the club together I think."

" Okay good, I didn't want to be the third wheel."

" I completely understand."

" Do you know what time we are going?"

" Eleven maybe, or sooner."

" Okay." I say letting a little yawn escape my mouth

" Are you tired?" he asks smiling

" Yeah, I think so. I am going to head home and take a nap before tonight."

" Okay, I will see you later."

Derek leans down and gives me a hug.

" Bye" I say walking out of the studio

I walk into my apartment. My head is hurting more today than it has been. It has been pretty good the last couple of days. Maybe some Advil will help. I take the medicine and lay down.

I wake up and check my phone, its 7:30. I slept so long, but I feel so much better. My head is not hurting anymore. I have a missed call from Mark, I call him back.

" Hey Shawn"

" Hey Mark, what are you doing?"

" Laying on the couch watching tv. Are you coming out with us tonight?"

" Yes, what time?"

" 10 maybe 11. Is that okay?"

" Yes, sounds good to me."

" Alright, I will be at your house to pick you up at 9:30. Derek, Tiffany, me and you are going to car pool to the club. Is that okay?"

" That is fine. I will see you then."

" Bye"

I sit and lounge around the house until its 9:00. I get off the couch to go take a shower. I get out of the shower and into my robe. I go to my closet to look for a dress. I have never been the type to wear skimpy things, not even to a club. Tonight I want to wear something classy, but sexy. I want people to see me as a women not a teenager. I am twenty now. I pick out a black sparkly dress. Its classy, yet the right thing to wear to a club. I walk back in the bathroom. I blow dry my hair and curl it. I'm putting my make up on when I hear a knock on my door.

" Coming" I yell

I look through the door hole and see Derek, Mark and Tiffany standing there. Well this is great. I am in my robe with half my make up on and my hair curled. I open the door.

" Hey, you guys are early."

" No, you're late." Mark says

I look at the clock on my wall, it says 9:45.

" Oops, all I got to do is finish my make up and get dressed. Ya'll come on in. Make yourself at home. I will be ready in less than five minutes."

I run into my bathroom and lock the door. Wouldn't want anyone walking in. I finish doing my make up. I am fixing to slip on my dress when I hear pounding on my bathroom door.

" Shawn hurry up please. You have been in their fifteen minutes." Derek says

" Okay, sorry I am almost done."

I slip on a black sparkly dress that ends a little bit above my knees. Perfect for the club, but no trashy. I put on some black heels. I walk out of the bathroom door, and over to the counter and grab my clutch.

" Ya'll ready"

" Finally" Mark says

" Shut up, I cant help it. It takes a women a while to get ready."

" You look very pretty Shawn." Derek says smiling

" Thank you." I say blushing

" Oh, Shawn, this is Tiffany. Tiffany this is Shawn."

" Nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you." I say reaching my hand out to shake hers.

" Same as to you. When you get these two together that's all they talk about is you and dancing." she says smiling

" Oh." I really don't know what to say back. My face starts getting redder. I look up at Derek and Mark, both of their faces are red. I guess they are a little embarrassed too.

" Well on that note, lets go." Mark says

We walk outside to were Mark parked, there are paparazzi everywhere. All I see are flashes, I lose my sighting for a few seconds. Mark grabs Tiffany's hand and leads her to the car. Derek and I are walking side by side. He has one hand up in the air in front if his eyes, and the other on the center of my back. I am holding my clutch in one hand and holding up my other to block all the flashes. We finally reach the car. Mark and Tiffany and already in it. Derek leads me over to the car still having one hand on the center of my back. He opens the door for me and I get in. He walks around the car to sit beside me in the back seat. I guess Mark is driving.

" Well that was rough." Derek says

" I agree, there were so many of them and so many flashes. I lost my eye sight for a few seconds." I say laughing

" Me too" he says smiling

We all get out of the car. Mark and Tiffany immediately start holding hands. Derek and I walk side by side until we reach the club. Derek takes his left arm and places his left hand on the center of my back. I place my right arm around his back as we stop to pose for pictures. I figure we would let go, but we walk like this until we get inside.

" Tiffany and I are going to get some drinks. Do you want anything?" Mark asks

" I'm good, but thanks." I say Derek tells him something but I couldn't catch it. It is way to loud for talking.

" Let's go to the V.I.P." Derek says

" Okay."

We walk over to the secluded place that Mark reserved for us tonight.

" Are you ready to have some fun after a long exhausting week?" Derek asks

" For sure. I wont be drinking though. I will be your designated driver."

" I'm not drinking much anyways. Never been a big drinker and you can have fun without doing it. I want to remember this night anyways." Derek says

" Me too." I say blushing

Tiffany and Mark come back with our drinks.

" Mark lets go dance." Tiffany says

" Okay." Mark replies

" Shawn, do you want to dance?" Derek asks

" Yes."

We walk through the crowd. Derek finds Mark and Tiffany, we stand beside them and start dancing. We dance for what seems like an hour.

" We're going to use the bathroom. We'll be back." he says pointing to Mark

" Okay."

" I'm going to go get a drink." Tiffany says

" Okay."

I am standing there for what seems like eternity. I keep hearing this male voice saying my name. It's not Mark or Derek. I turn around and see the man walking up to me. My heart stops completely. I cannot believe the man standing in front of me. Its none other than Ryan, my ex boyfriend.

" What are you doing here?" I yell

" I came to LA to hopefully see you. And look here, I found you." he says

" I don't want to see you. I thought I made that clear when I threw a remote at you and moved out of our apartment."

" Shawn, I still love you. I always will, you know that."

I turn around to run away and run right into Derek's hard muscular chest. It doesn't take him long to notice I was running away from something.

" Babe, what's wrong?" he asks

When he asks me that I cant keep the tears from rolling. This is not how I seen my night. Crying in the middle of the dance floor and seeing my ex. Before I can answer I hear footsteps behind me and I know its Ryan.

" Shawn, wait….. " he stops talking when he sees me crying and in Derek's arms.

" Ryan go away. I don't want to see you." I say tears still rolling. I get out of Derek's arms to look at Ryan in the eye.

Ryan reaches to touch my arm and Derek grabs his hand.

" I think she told you to leave." Derek says his other hand clenched in a fist. His eyebrows scrunched together.

" Derek calm down, he isn't worth it." I say putting my hand on his chest

" Yeah listen to her. You really don't want to start with me." Ryan says

" Ryan shut up. I would love nothing more than him to stomp you, but he is better than that." I say

" You right. Lets go." Derek says

Derek releases Ryan's hand a takes my hand. We intertwine our fingers and walk over to the reserved seating.

" Are you okay?" Derek asks

" Yes, I will be okay. I think I'm going to call a cab and go home."

" I will go with you."

" You don't have to do that."

" Shawn its no big deal. Lets go tell Mark."

We get up and Derek holds my hand again. We walk up to Mark and his eyes fall to our hands.

" What's going on?" Mark asks

" My ex Ryan showed up."

" Yeah, we are going to take a cab and go home." Derek says

" Nonsense I will take you. We were getting ready to leave anyways. So that douche actually showed up?" Mark asks his eyebrows scrunching up

" Yes" I whisper

" Where is he? I will kick his ass." Mark yells

" Whoa Mark bro chill. I almost did too, but lets just leave. We will most likely see him around." Derek says

Derek leads us out to the door. He hasn't let go of my hand. I am glad though. We walk past all the paparazzi taking thousands of pictures. We finally reach the car. Derek opens the door for me. Then walks over and sits beside me. I turn my head towards the window. Silently tears just start rolling. I guess Derek seen them in the little light we had. He grabs my arm and pulls me closer to him. I turn my head and lay it on his chest. He wraps his arm around my shoulder. We stay like this until we reach my apartment.

" I will walk you in." Derek says

" Okay."

We arrive at my apartment.

" Well we are here." I say

" I would stay, because I want to talk to you, but Mark and Tiffany are waiting."

" I understand. I really need some time to process this all anyways."

Derek leans down and embraces me. I love when he hugs me.

" I will talk to you tomorrow. Let me know if you need anything. I will be right over."

" I will and thank you so much for being here. It means a lot." I say blushing

A/N- hope your liking it so far, and its not boring. -Mallory


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I wake up and look at my clock, its 6:30. I barley got any sleep last night. All I could think about was how sweet and protective Derek was. Then Ryan shows up and ruins my night. I don't even have the energy to get out of the bed, but mom and dad are coming today. My apartment is a wreck. I have not had time to clean it. I'm still not fully unpacked. I wonder if we are having practice today. I hope we have it though, I need something to focus on and get my mind off Ryan and his drama. I will just text Derek.

" _Hey Derek, are we having practice today?" _

Within in three minutes he has responded.

" _If its fine with you. I know your parents are coming in, I wouldn't want to keep you from being with them. Do you have a time you would prefer?" _

I text him back relieved that we are going to practice.

" _They are coming at noon. Anytime before that would be fine with me." _

He texts back instantly.

" Okay_, why don't we go at 7:30." _

" _Okay sounds good to me." _

I get in the shower and am out within five or so minutes. I put my hair in a pony tail that is still curled from last night, and my make up. I grab a t-shirt, black yoga pants, and my tennis-shoes. I glance at the clock and its ten minutes after seven. Perfect timing, I have twenty minutes to get there. I grab my bag and dancing shoes and head to my car.

I get to the dance studio. Every since I had the accident with that person I don't go in until Derek gets here. They have upped the security around here, but I'm still afraid. Derek is nice enough to just wait on me to stretch, he always finds something to do in the meantime. I see Derek pull up in his car, I get out of mine.

We walk in our studio together. We are the only ones here, people usually don't practice on the weekends. I walk over to the steps and put my bag down and slip my heels on. I start stretching while Derek puts the c.d. in the player. It only takes me five or so minutes till I'm done.

" Are you ready?" Derek asks

" Yes."

We get into our starting position. We go over the dance two times.

" Why don't we take a break." Derek says

" Okay."

I walk over to the steps to look at my phone. I have a missed call from a unknown number. I will call it back in case its important. It rings three times before somebody answers.

" Hello?" a husky voice asks

" Yes, did you call me?" I ask politely

" Yeah, Shawn this is Ryan."

My mouth drops open.

" How did you get my number" I ask through gritted teeth.

" I have my connections. You cant stay away from me. I always find out stuff."

" I can stay away from you. I've been doing it and have been perfectly happy." I'm so mad right now. I haven't been this mad in a while. I notice Derek is looking at me with concern in his eyes.

" Oh Shawn, you don't know how much I have missed you. We didn't get to finish our conversation last night. You ran off with him." he sounds mad now.

" We have nothing to talk about. I don't have anything to say to you. I've said it all."

" We have a lot to talk about. I still love you and want to be with you."

" I don't want to be with you. Get that through your hard head. I left you for a reason. Leave me alone!" I am yelling now. I don't even give him time to respond before I end the call. He makes my blood boil. I can get mad so easy just hearing his voice. I look up and Derek is standing in front of me.

" Are you okay?" he asks sounding worried

" I will be. Just crazy ex boyfriend problems." I say laughing

" So that was Ryan, I figured it was."

" Yeah, I don't know how he got my number. I will have to change it."

" Why won't he just leave you alone?"

" I don't know. Last night was the first time I seen him since I left him. I threw a remote at him and got my stuff out of our apartment." I say my voice cracking a bit.

" I didn't know Shawn J had a mean bone in her body. And a remote? I wouldn't want you to ever be mad at me." he says. I cant help but to laugh at his comment

" Yes, I have a very mean side. It hardly even comes out, but when it does I am dangerous. It takes a lot to get me mad."

" Do you mind me asking why you broke up with him?"

" I don't mind. He cheated on me." I say, I cant look him in the eyes.

" He is one stupid person to cheat on you. You can do much better than him anyways." he says smiling

" Thank you." I say blushing

" No problem. Do you want to go over our dance again?" he asks

" Yeah." I say smiling

We do our dance one more time. It is the best we have done it all week.

" Hey, let me check the time." I say

Its eleven forty five. Crap. I've got to go.

" Its eleven forty five. I've got to go pick mom and dad up from the airport. Thank you so much for today and last night. I really needed to get my mind off of him and you helped me so much." I say grinning from ear to ear.

" You are welcome. We are partners now, we will help each other with everything." he says

I reach up on my tip toes and give him a hug.

" I will see you Monday." Derek says

" Monday." I repeat. I walk out of the studio.

I arrive at the airport and see mom and dad standing outside. I get out of my car and run up to them. I have missed them so much. I about nock them over.

" Mom!, Dad! I have missed ya'll so much!" I yell

" Shawn, we have missed you too." they say in unison

" Well lets go home. I will take you luggage for you."

We get to my apartment. I just now remembered I didn't clean up. Oh well, they know how hectic my life is.

" Sorry it's a wreck. I didn't have any time to clean this morning. We had practice."

" It's okay. We don't mind."

I show them around my apartment, and to there room.

" You will never guess who I saw last night." I say to mom

" Who?" she asks

" Ryan." her mouth drops

" When and how?" she asks

" I was with Derek, Mark, and Tiffany at this club. Derek and Mark leave to use the bathroom. Tiffany goes to get a drink, I'm standing in the middle of the dance floor and he comes up to me." I say

" That is awful. I cant believe he is here. Did you talk to him?"

" For a minute, I turned around to leave and he grabbed my arm. About that time Derek comes back and we leave."

" At least Derek was there."

" Yeah, he has been very helpful and a great person this week."

" It sounds like it."

" At practice today he called me. I have to go change my number again."

" He just wont leave you alone. I don't get it." mom says

" I don't either. I told him I didn't want to be with him. He said he still loves me and wants to be with me."

" Shawn, don't go back down that road. You don't need him and can do way better than that."

" Mom, I'm not going to. Right now all I am focused on is dancing. I don't have time for his drama."

" Good." she reaches over and gives me a hug. Dad comes out of the room and joins us.

" I love you guys. I'm glad you're here."

" Love you too. We wouldn't be anywhere else."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

" Shawn, wake up. Today's the big day. You've got to go get ready." mom says

" What time is it?" I ask without opening my eyes

" 6:00, I let you sleep as long as you could."

" Just five more minutes, please mom." I say begging

" No, you sound like your in high school again. When I would come and get you up."

" Fine, I will get up."

Mom walks out of the room, I get up and in the shower. As much as I didn't want to get up I am so excited about the show today. I'm really nervous though. I want to do great and not mess up. I will be at the show most of the day getting my hair and make up done. I'm not really sure what my outfit is going to look like, I have seen the drawing. I haven't seen the actual thing. I take a quick shower, so I will have time to eat breakfast. There is no point in me putting on make up on. I get dressed and walk out of my bedroom.

" Well look who decided to join us." dad said

" Yes, good morning. Ya'll are both up early." I say giving him a hug and kiss on the check.

" I've got some running around to do today before the show tonight." dad says. I walk over to the cabinet and pull out a pop tart.

" Are you leaving right after the show?"

" Yeah, I think me and you mom are going to go then. It has been fun, but LA is just not our scene."

" I understand. I didn't like it at first, but I like it now."

" Are you ready hun?" mom asks dad

" Yeah lets go." dad responds

" I will see ya'll tonight." I say giving them both a hug.

" Bye" they say. I finish my pop tart, grab my bag and some extra clothes and head to the studio.

I get to the show and the parking lot is full. There are so many people that work on the show, then all the contestants. Thankfully I have my own parking place. Derek and I have parking places right beside each other. He is here, I am surprised he is on time. I through the doors into the building. I see Mark and Derek talking.

" Hey Shawn" Derek says

" Hey Derek, Mark" I wave at both of them. I head towards the make up area. I see Melissa sitting in the chair.

" Hey Melissa" I say while waving. We are pretty close we were both on Season Eight together.

" Hey Shawn" she reaches up and gives me a hug still sitting in the chair.

" Are you ready for tonight?" I ask her

" Yeah, I am so excited to finally be dancing again." she says

" Me too, I haven't ballroom dances since season eight."

" Me either"

" Well that makes me feel better" I say laughing

" Miss Johnson?" I hear a female voice say

" Yes?" I ask

" Can you come with me? I'm going to start on your hair and make up."

" Yeah. I will see you later Melissa" I say

It take them a couple hours before they are done. It is now noon, I have seven hours till we are live. I'm getting nervous by the minute. Since I'm done I decide to go find Derek. I find him.

" Hey Derek"

" Hey Shawn"

" I see your done with make up and hair."

" Yeah, I love my dress." I say smiling

" Me too, you look beautiful tonight." he says smiling

" Thank you, you look very handsome." I say blushing

" Your welcome. Are you ready for the show?"

" Yeah, I am just nervous. In season eight, the first time I walked out on the first episode I tripped on my dress. I was pretty embarrassed." I say blushing more

" Ha, that is funny, but hey you survived."

" Right." I say laughing

Before I know its 6:50, we have ten minutes till were live. We are in our specific spots to walk out. My knees are shaking I'm so nervous.

" Are you okay? Your shaking like crazy over there." Derek asks

" Um.. I'm just really nervous. My knees are shaking."

" Your going to do great. You know the dance, I have your back if you fall down the steps. it's a win, win situation." Derek says

" You know you never fail to make me smile." I say blushing

" I try, I try." Derek says laughing

We hear the announcer say the couple in front of us.

" Here goes nothing. Shawn I got your back. Just smile and have fun." Derek says

I reach up and give him the biggest hug ever. I am so thankful to have this guy as my partner. " Thanks"

We hear our names and walk down the steps. About half way down Derek stops walking and picks me up. He holds me with one of his arms and has his other one up in the air. We get down the steps to stand in line.

" Have you had that planned all along?" I ask him

" Since you told me earlier about you falling down the steps." he says laughing

Its finally our time to dance.

" Shawn, I just wanted to say that I love dancing with you. We have only been paired together a week and I love it already."

" Thank you, I love dancing with you too. I am glad I got you as a partner."

" I love dancing with you." Derek says

" And I love dancing with you." I say

" So lets dance together." we say in unison while hugging.

We walk out on the floor and do our dance. The entire time Derek is giving me help about the dance. When its over we hug each other.

" That was great, you did amazing and looked amazing." he whispers in my ear while picking me up and spinning me around. We walk over to the judges table and hear there comments. We go up to Brooke and get our scores. When we reach the sky deck Mark comes out of know where and embraces me. I havent seen him since this morning.

" You did amazing." Mark says

" Thank you."

We go stand by Brooke to get our scores. We get a 8 from Carrie Ann, 6.5 from Len, and a 7.5 from Bruno. I guess that is good for week one. I cant say I'm not disappointed by the 6.5. We have our scores and walk back down the stairs to the dressing rooms.

" You did great. I am so proud of you." Derek says giving me a hug

" Thank you, you did great too, which of course you would being the pro." I say laughing

" Yes, but we all make mistakes. Kind of like Len's score. It was a mistake. I thought we should have got higher."

" I did too, but for week one I am happy." I say

" I have something to tell you." Derek says looking serious at me

" What?" I ask nervously

" Mark told me he seen Ryan in the audience. He didn't want to tell you before we dance. I told him I would tell you after."

" I cant believe he is here. I wish he would just take a hint." I say getting angry

" Do you want me to beat him up? Then maybe he will get it through his hard head" Derek says

" No, your too classy to fight with him. Maybe I can avoid him the rest of the night."

" Hopefully"

The show is over for tonight. We are done with all the interviews and just have to be back tomorrow. We will get here around the same time, then after tomorrows show instead of going home we will have practice. I hope I make it through. I can only hope and pray. I haven't made a big deal about winning, but I want to win just like everybody else.

Its 7:30 Tuesday evening. We have already learned some of the couples going through. Derek and I are up next, I'm more nervous tonight than last night. We hear our names and go take our place with the others on the floor.

" Derek and Shawn" Tom starts talking

I ignore all he says. All I can concentrate on is Derek whispering in my ear soothing words.

" Its all going to be okay. You will make it through. I have faith in you"

Then we hear you are through. We both jump up and down. I leap into Derek's arms, he catches me.

" I told you so." he whispers

The show is over and we have finished with all the after show interviews. We head to the studio to practice. Tonight we are going over our outfits, dance, and song.

" We are doing the Jive, and the song is nicest kids in town." Derek says smiling

" I love the song, isn't the dance really fast?" I ask him

" Yes, but you will have no problem keeping up with it. I have already been thinking of some ideas."

" What kind of outfits?" I ask

" I am going to wear a white shirt with a pink tie, a bluish color jacket and grey pants. I think I want you to wear a pink and white dress. The top will be white with sparkles and the bottom will be pinks skirts. The theme will be from Hairspray the movie."

" Okay"

" That is all, I am going to go home. Are you ready to leave?"

" Yes I am exhausted." I say smiling

" You did amazing Monday night. You will do great with this dance too." he says

" I will see you tomorrow." I say reaching up and hugging Derek. Walking out of the studio and making our way to our cars.

_Hope you like the chapter. If there are any mistakes I'm sorry. I wanted to get another chapter out today, and I didn't have time to re read it. - Mallory _


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

I walk into the studio Wednesday. Its 9:00, I think we are going to have a long day ahead of us. Derek is already here listening to our music. I decide to start stretching.

" Hey" Derek says

" Hey"

" Are you ready to start?" He asks

" Yes, I am always excited to learn a new dance."

" I have most of it made up. I was up last night thinking about it. I'm not really sure how I want to start the dance though. That seems to be the only thing giving me trouble. I want to start with something good and eye catching. So they will go, hey look at them."

" I know you didn't ask me, and I most definitely not a choreographer, but why don't we do a cartwheel going down the steps."

" That is a great idea. If you ever have any ideas just throw them out there. I will respect anything you have. Even if they are stupid." he says laughing

" Okay" I say smiling

We do the cartwheel then come up and get in hold to start the dance. If I say so myself it looks pretty good. I at least know I can contribute some gymnastic ideas.

" Good job, that looks great." Derek says

" Thank you, I thought it did too."

Derek teaches me a little bit of the dance.

" The dance and music is faster than last weeks. It will turn out great though, you are in great shape and can keep up good."

" I hope so, I might not be able to move tomorrow." I say laughing

" I completely understand, do you want to go grab some lunch?"

" Sure, I'll drive."

" Then I will pay, no if, ands, or buts about it." he says smiling

" Okay, if you insist" There is no point in arguing about it, he will win eventually.

We go to the café down the road. There aren't a lot of people here. We have been coming here so much they are going to know our orders and us personally.

" Do you want the usual?" The cashier ask Derek, this guy has good memory.

" Yes" Derek replies " And you ma'am?"

" The same" Derek reaches in his back pocket for his wallet, he pull out his credit card.

" It will be about 10 minutes." The cashier says

" Okay" We walk over to a table by the window.

" Have you heard anymore from Ryan?"

" No, thank goodness, I didn't run into him at the show Monday. I would have freaked out. Maybe he has left."

" Maybe so, you don't need him and all his problems in your life."

" I agree"

Derek and I get back to the studio. We do the dance a few more times. I'm getting better at it.

" Hey my manager called and wants us to go to a movie premiere tonight." Derek says

" Okay, what movie?"

" The Perks of being a Wallflower."

" I've been wanting to see that."

" Me too, I hope it's good."

" She said the premiere is at 6:00, I will pick you up at 5:30. Is that okay?"

" Yes, fine with me."

I've been home a few hours from practice. I decide to take a nap. I wake up at 4:00 and get ready. I take a shower, curl my hair, and put my make up on. I decide to wear a brown sparkly shirt, navy blue pants, black heels, and a black clutch. I am ready by 5:20. I wait patiently for Derek. I hear a nock on my door. I open it, he is wearing kaki pants, and a white button up shirt. He looks stunning.

" Are you ready?" he asks me

" Yes"

We get to the red carpet, and take tons of pictures. Its finally time to watch the movie.

" I have my nachos and peanut butter m&ms, I'm ready." Derek says smiling

" I have my popcorn and diet coke. Lets get this movie started."

The movie was amazing. Derek arrives at my apartment at 9:00, he walks me to my car.

" I had a great time tonight. Which I always have a good time with you. Did you have fun?"

" Yes, we will have to do it again." I say blushing

" Most definitely" he says

I reach up and give him a hug.

" I will see you tomorrow" he says

" Bye"

I turn around and walk into my apartment.

I wake up the next day. I have to visit the doctor today, my head hasn't been hurting and I've been taking my medicine. I need to text Derek and let him know I have the appointment. We never scheduled practice, but we need to have it.

" _Hey Derek I have a doctors appointment today. What time for practice_?"

I get out of the bed and have a shower, I check my phone.

" _Why don't we go at 10:00. " _

" _Okay, sounds good to me." _

I get to the doctors office at 9:30 and sign in. I hope it doesn't take them long. I have been sitting here 10 minutes when I hear my name.

" Miss Johnson, follow me"

I get up and follow the lady to a room in the back of the building. She asks me tons of questions.

" The doctor will be here shortly." I sit on the table and wait for him. I hear a nock on the door.

" Miss Johnson" he reaches his hand out to me.

" Dr." I say, he examines my head and ask me questions.

" You seem to be fine to me, please just keep being careful. You wouldn't want to hurt it again."

" Okay will do."

I get to the studio at 10:10. Crap, I'm ten minutes late.

" I am so sorry. My doctors appointment ran late."

" Don't let it happen again!" Derek snaps

I look at him, I cant believe he just snapped at me. I feel like I am about to start crying, I don't want to. Not in front of him. I guess he sees the tears in my eyes

" Shawn, I was just joking, you are always so innocent and polite, I was just messing with you."

I sigh with relief " You scared me. I let the tears in my eye flow."

Derek sees and comes running across the room.

" Shawn, I didn't mean too, I was just kidding. Oh my goodness, what have I done."

I bust out laughing. " Gotcha!"

" Shawn Johnson, that is just mean. I thought you were being serious."

" That is what you get for playfully snapping at me." I say smiling

" All right, I guess I deserved that one."

We practice our dance a few more times. Man this dance is tiring. I'm exhausted.

" Okay, I think we can be done for today. I don't know about you, but I am wore out." Derek says

" Me too"

He leans down and gives me a hug.

" I will see you tomorrow, sniffles"

" Sniffles?" I ask smiling

" Yes, because you like to cry." he says laughing

" Okay then, Mr. Grumpy"

" Nice one, sniffles"

I grab my bags and walk out of the studio.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Monday night comes before I know it. I learned the dance well this week. I think I am more in shape than Derek. He gets completely out of breath when we finish the dance. It is quite entertaining. We are in line fixing to walk out, I look out into the audience and see my mom and dad. My body relaxes a little bit.

" Are you nervous?" Derek asks me

" Not nearly as much as I was last week."

" Me either, I didn't say anything, but I was a nervous wreck last week. I just didn't want to mess up and I was nervous for you. I just wanted you to do great and shine."

" Aww that's so sweet. I didn't want to mess up and I wanted to do good for you. You have done it for 10 seasons, I'm surprised you still get nervous."

" I know, besides my first show, that was the only time I have been nervous."

I reach up and give him a hug.

" You did amazing, good scores, and we made it through." I say still hugging him

" You did great too, I was so proud of you"

We let go of each other. Derek grabs my hand and our fingers intertwine. We walk down the steps when we hear our names. Its finally our turn to dance. They are going to commercial break first. Derek turns towards me.

" I love dancing with you, its just great."

" I love dancing with you too. I have never felt more alive, it's a true honor."

He leans down and kisses my forehead and gives me a hug. We finish our dance. Carrie Ann gives us a 8.5, Len a 8, and Bruno a 8.5. Overall decent scores, I was happy with the dance, I think Derek was too, I feel great when I do a dance and he is happy. He just smiles the rest of the night.

We are at the studio Tuesday night. I'm a nervous wreck. I hate elimination days. You never know who is safe and who is going home.

"Hey" Derek says

"Hey"

" Are you alright?"

" Yeah, just nervous as usual. I stay nervous a lot." I say

" Yeah, me too. Especially when I have good partners like you. I don't want to leave the show."

" I understand, its only second week and I don't want the season to end."

He leans down and gives me a hug.

" Are you ready for this?" Derek asks

" Ready as I'll ever be."

He takes me by the hand and leads me down the stirs. We hear Brooke and Tom talking to the couple beside us.

" Next we have Shawn and Derek." Tom says

" Carrie Ann named you the all star sweethearts." Brooke says

" Did America agree and put you through?" Tom says

" And on this second week of competition the couple coming back is." Tom says

" Shawn and Derek" Tom and Brooke say in unison

I jump up and hug Derek around his neck. I am so happy.

" We made it." Derek whispers in my ear."

" Yes, thankfully" I respond

We head back up the stairs. I see Mark and Bristol talking. Derek and I go to the couch and sit down. Mark leaves his conversation and comes to sit beside me.

" Hey congrats" Mark says

" Hey thanks, you too." I say

" I haven't seen you since you seen Ryan. Are you alright?"

" Yeah, he found out my phone number. He was at the show last Monday, but I didn't see him. Derek told me he seen him."

" That's good you didn't have to see him."

" Yeah, I don't think he was here last night though. He will probably just keep popping up when I least expect it."

" Probably, maybe he will learn his lesson after a while."

" Hopefully"

The show is over and we have finished all of our after show interviews. The interview are the highlight of my nights on Tuesday. I love answering questions. I only like getting asked them directly when Derek it there. If I ever need saving he will swoop in and give his opinion.

" Why don't we take a break tonight. We can have practice tomorrow." Derek says

" Okay, what time?" I ask him

" Why don't we go at 9:00. Is that okay?"

" Yes, sounds great. I will see you in the morning."

" Bye" He leans down and gives me a hug.

I arrive back at my apartment. I am exhausted, between practices, eliminations, and Ryan I am physically and mentally tired. I decide to take some Advil and go to bed.

I have showered and got dressed. I'm ready for practice this week. I bet Derek got our music last night, and our dance. I hope its something high paced. They told us last night that us, the contestants get to make up the dance. We get to pick what we wear and the whole dance. That puts a lot of pressure on me. Derek is going to have to trust me. I have an idea, I'm not sure how he will like it. Don't get me wrong Derek's choreography has been great these past two weeks. I just feel like we need to do something to make us stand out. Its week 3 its time to get to work. I get at the studio at 8:45, Derek's car is already here. I wonder what time he got here. I walk into the room and he is dancing. There is some type of music playing and he is just moving gracefully around the room. I stop in the door way and just watch him. He is amazing. I stand there for what seems like ten minutes.

" Shawn, I didn't know you were here." Derek says bringing me out of my daze.

" Yeah, I was just admiring the view." I say blushing

" How long were you standing there?" he asks laughing

" Not long." I say still blushing

" What do you think about the judges and producers letting ya'll make up our dance, or rather giving the theme for it and picking out our costumes."

" I actually am happy about it, or course its just a lot of pressure."

" Yeah, ya'll will get a little view of what its like to be a pro."

" I have a little idea though. I'm not sure about the choreography, I just know what I want to do."

" Okay, what is it?"

" Well, its week 3 and all star season. I want to do something the judges will never forget. I want it to be the best dance they have ever seen. I got a text this morning saying we had the quick step. My inspiration is Helio and Julianne's quickstep. I don't want to out do it but I love how fast paced they do it. I want to make us stand out from the rest of the cast and make a statement. Maybe break a few rules." I say

" Okay, I see where your going with this. I agree its all star season and this is the best of the best. We have to bring it all or nothing."

" I agree. One hundred and fifty percent."

We listen to the music, we have some of the dance made up. We started breaking one or two rules and its like a train reaction. We have broke most of the rules they have.

" I love the beginning." Derek says

" Me too, I'm glad I am getting to help with it so much. Its my favorite part in the dance so far."

" Know you know we are going to get bashed pretty bad from the judges."

" Yeah, I will respect their scores and comments. This is for the fans, if they love it and we make it through and people are watching our dance weeks later it was worth it."

" I agree, maybe this is how we should do the rest of the season. One hundred and fifty percent on every dance and do it for the fans. Dedicate this season to them."

" I agree completely, do it for the loyal fans that have stuck with show and vote every week."

Derek puts his hands up and we give each other a high five.

" And this is why I love dancing with you." Derek says

" Touché, we think just alike." I say blushing

We get back to work. This dance is going to be amazing.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

I wake up Friday morning, this week has been so exhausting. We have the whole dance done. We aren't having practice today or tomorrow. We're going to have a short one Sunday afternoon so we can fix any mistakes. I get showered and dress and decide to go to the gym. I'm so used to being in the gym everyday and I can't go as often. I head to the gym.

I've finished my workout and decide to go have a bite to eat. I go to the little café Derek and I go to a lot. Its packed, there is a line all the way to the door. I wait in line for 15 minutes and its finally my turn to order.

" Miss Johnson, do you want your normal?" the cashier asks

" Yes, is that bad that I come here so much you remember my order?" I ask

" No ma'am, I just have a really good memory. Is Mr. Hough joining you? I will go ahead and add his order."

" No, not today."

" Okay, it should be maybe ten minutes."

" Okay, thank you"

" Anytime"

I find a little table in the corner. There is a magazine laying on my table I pick it up and start reading it. There are some young guys at a table in front of mine. They're cute, they all look about my age. The guy that has his back to me turns around and its none other than Ryan. Great he's just the person I want to see. I pick the magazine up and try to hide behind it. I peek up from behind and I see him heading over to my table. I think I should run but then I am really hungry. I waited in that long line, then I have been sitting here a while so my food will done and I will have a excuse to leave.

" Long time no see." I look up and Ryan is sitting in the chair across from me.

" Hello Ryan, such a pleasure to see you." I say with as much sarcasm as I can.

" Aww Shawn that's so nice of you. I just really wished you ment it."

" Yeah, that will probably not happen." I snap

" Why are you so angry with me? What happened to the girl who didn't have a mean bone in her body and loved me? I really wish she would come back."

" Don't hold your breath. That girl left a long time ago when you cheated on me. You hurt me so bad, I didn't think we would ever break up. I could see us getting married and having kids and you just messed that up." I say my voice cracking. I don't want to cry.

" I have apologized so many times for that. I was so stupid I don't know what I was thinking. I miss you and I still love you. I know you still love me. You wouldn't be here talking to me if you didn't still care about me too."

" Yes Ryan I still love you, I will always love you. We were together for so long, heck we lived together. I have forgiven you I just cant forget."

" I just want us to try and get over it. I need you in my life. I have been through hell since you left me. I don't know what to do, I just want you back."

" Ryan, I don't think I can. It killed me when I found out you cheated on me. I haven't been myself ever since. I just don't want to go through that again, I couldn't fully trust you again."

" I will prove to you that you can trust me. I have changed, I just want a second chance. Please give me that."

" I will have to thank about it. Don't get your hopes up."

I hear my ticket number being called my food is ready. I stand up and start to go get my food.

" Wait"

I turn back around and Ryan pulls me into a hug and kisses my forehead.

" I love you Shawn, I will prove it to you."

" I've got to go." I turn around and go get my food and head to my car. When I get in my car I cant hold back the tears anymore. I just let them fall, I'm a wreck. Why does this have to be so hard? Why cant he just leave me alone? I don't understand, I don't know what to do.

I get back to my apartment. I set the food on the table and take a Advil. All this crying is making my head hurt. I'm a blubbering mess I don't know why I cant stop crying. I go to my bedroom and cry myself to sleep.

I wake up Sunday, these past two days have been hell. I don't want to go to practice today but I need to. I don't want to let Derek down. Yesterday I didn't leave the house. All I can think about is Ryan and what he told me. He wants a second chance, part of me wants to give it to him. I don't know if I could deal with him again. I look at my phone and I have five missed calls from Derek and a voicemail from Mark. I call Derek back. He picks up on the first ring.

" Hello?" he says

" Hey, you called like fifty times, is everything okay?"

" Yes, you're just a hour late for practice. I was just checking to see if you were alright."

" Oh shit, I overslept. I will be there in ten minutes." I hear Derek laughing

" Are you laughing at me?" I ask

" Yes, Shawn Johnson, Americas' sweet heart just cussed. I have never heard you, I didn't think you cussed."

" Well sometimes it just slips out."

" Ha, I never would have thought you would. I will see you when you get here."

" Okay, bye"

I listen to the voicemail from Mark.

" _Hey Shawn, Derek said he has been trying to talk to you and your not answering your phone. That's not like you, are you okay? Call me when you can." _

I just decide to text him.

" _Yes I'm fine just overslept. Thanks for being concerned. Talk to you later." _

I have my shower and clothes on. I don't have time to put any make up on. I grab my bag a run out the door.

I get to the studio I feel bad that I overslept. I walk in and Derek's talking on the phone. I walk over to the steps and put my bad down. I look at myself in the mirror and I wish I would've put make up on.

" Its about time you show up." Derek says

" Sorry, I overslept. I have had a rough past two days."

" What's wrong?"

Dang I shouldn't have said anything. I don't want to talk about this again. I want to try and forget about it.

" Its nothing."

" Come on Shawn, don't clam up on me. I can tell something is wrong by looking at you. You have no make up on and have big black bags under your eyes. You know you can talk to me."

" Well thanks Derek you know how to make a girl feel good." I say smiling

" Even with no make up and bags under your eyes you have never looked better." he says

" Thank you, are you ready to start practice?" I ask trying to change the subject

" I guess so. I will get you to talk to me before you leave here. I can stay here all day I don't have nothing planned."

" Okay"

We do the whole dance one time. I mess up on almost everything. I hate that this is having an effect on my dancing. The show is tomorrow I am going to have to pull it together.

" Okay, something is really wrong. Your messing up on the easy stuff. With the moves we are doing your going to have to concentrate and focus. We cant mess up for your safety and mine. I will have to take the moves out."

" I don't want to pull them. Lets do it again."

" Okay"

We do the dance again I'm still messing up. I can tell Derek is getting upset.

" Why don't I take a break." I say

" That might be a good idea."

I walk over to the steps. I lay down on my back and put my hands over my face. I hear footsteps and Derek is laying down beside me.

" Are you okay?" he asks

" Yes"

" Don't lie, we both know you are not okay. Your messing up on a dance that you know by heart. You doing the little things wrong."

" I don't know what's wrong with me."

" You can talk to me about it. Maybe it will be better if you do."

" I hate talking about my problems with people. I don't want to drag you into it."

" I am telling you I want to know. Your not dragging me into anything. If I didn't care and didn't want to know I wouldn't be laying right here beside you trying to figure it out. Something is wrong and its affecting your dancing. The show is tomorrow."

" I know, its just that you have been here through all that other stuff. I feel like its been something ever since I have got to LA. I don't want to get on your nerves with all my problems."

" But I want to know. I care about what goes on and want the best for you. The best thing for you is to stay in this competition. If you dance like what you just did tomorrow you will be going home. I don't think you want to go home."

" I don't, I guess I will tell you. My problems do affect your job." I say laughing

" Yes, they do. Now spill Miss Johnson."

I sit up and so does Derek. I turn my body towards him and bring my knees up to my chest and wrap my arms around them.

" I was at the café Friday morning I had just got done working out. The place was packed and I was at a little table in the corner waiting for my food. I looked up and seen some cute guys sitting at the table in front of me." I stop talking

" Okay, go ahead." Derek says

" The guy that had his back to me turns around and I realize its Ryan. I was reading a magazine and I hide behind it hoping he wont see me. Well he does and walks over to my table."

" Oh shit" Derek says

" Yeah, well he tells me he still loves me and cares about me. He says that he will prove it to me that I can trust him again. He tells me he wants a second chance." I say my voice cracking

" What did you say?"

" Nothing, my food was ready and I stood up to go get it. He said to wait and I turned around. He gave me a hug and kissed my forehead. I told him I had to go. I went and got my food and left." I choke out tears sliding down my cheeks.

" Come here" Derek says

He pulls me to him. I slide on the floor. He opens his legs from where he was sitting Indian style. He pulls me into his chest. My legs are crossed with my head buried in his chest.

" I hate to see you cry."

" I hate crying. I just cant stop the tears. I have been crying for two days."

" You should have called me."

" I just wanted to be alone. I needed time to think. I haven't talked to anybody about this. My mom hates Ryan so I don't talk to her about him."

" Do you know what your going to do?"

I let go of him to wipe my tears. Why did he have to ask this? I have no idea what I'm going to do.

" I have no idea. Part of me wants to take him back and then I remember he cheated on me. Its just so hard."

" I'm so sorry this is happening to you. You don't deserve this."

" I wish he would've done this later when I was at home and not in LA on dancing with stars."

" Would it be easier if you were at home?"

" I don't know. If he would've done this earlier I would have no hesitation to give him a second chance."

Derek goes silent. " So with that being said your taking him back?"

" I don't know. I have no idea what to do. I'm a mess, I cant sleep, and I cant stop crying. I just wish he would disappear I don't have time to worry about him."

" I cant tell you what to do about him, but he is not going away. You'll just have to push him out of your head and not think about him."

" Your right. No matter what happens it cant affect my dancing."

" Know that you have talked about it and got it off your chest do you want to try this dance again?"

" Yes"

We do the dance again and I only mess up once.

" See I told you talking to me about it would help."

" I guess your right. I just don't open up to people. I have a little bubble and not many people get through it."

" I hope you can trust me enough to talk to me about anything. Without any hesitation. I know we have only been partners for three weeks, but I feel like we're already good friends."

" I feel the same its just that I have been trained to show no emotion. So that's what I usually do, just hide all my emotions and problems."

Derek grabs my arms and wraps them around his waist. He puts his arms around me.

" I want you to talk to me about your problems. I don't like to watch you cry."

" I will try to open up more."

A/N- If I put Ryan and Shawn together they wont stay together long. I love Shawnough! I'm not sure if her and Ryan will be together, but her and Derek will end up together. : ) - Mallory


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

As we're waiting in line to dance Monday night my heart is about to beat out of my chest. With all of this weekends drama I want to do good on this dance. We have a double elimination tomorrow.

" Shawn calm down. I can see your heart beating all the way over here." Derek says laughing

" I can't help it. I'm so nervous. Maybe we should go over the dance one more time."

" We have went over it 3 times and you made no mistakes. You've got it. You will do great. Do you trust me?"

" Of course."

" Good, I have your back. If you start to mess up I will be there to pick you up."

" Okay" I say my nerves settling a little bit.

" I love dancing with you." Derek says

" I love dancing with you too."

" So lets dance together." We say in unison.

We go out there and nail our performance. We got a 9 from Carrie Ann, 8 from Len, and a 9.5 from Bruno. Bruno said it was the best dance he had ever seen. My heart leaped out of my chest when he said that. It's the best feeling when you nail a dance and hear great things from the judges.

" I told you that you would do great. I believe in you 100 percent."

" Same here. I have put my trust in you completely."

" Let's go home and get some rest. I will see you tomorrow." Derek says

" Bye."

He leans down and gives me a hug and kisses my head. We both walk out to our cars and drive away.

We have just found out we made it through to week 4. They have just informed us that we'll be picking the dance for our competitors. We get to pick for Helio and Chelsie we give them the Charleston. They give us the Mambo. Derek and I head straight to the studio as soon as the show is over. We are going to my hometown this week.

" Are you excited about going home to visit this week?"

" Of course I love being home."

" So we got the Mambo this week. Its going to be sexy, sexy, and did I mention sexy?"

" Oh goodness."

" You will do great. Before Monday night you'll be comfortable moving your hips and being sexy.

" I hate these kinds of dances. I hate having to be sexy and put myself out there like this."

" Shawn, you just don't realize how sexy you are. You don't have to have this type of dance to be sexy. Your sexy with any dance we get."

I cant even look at him. My face is red as a tomato.

" I love seeing you blush."

" It doesn't take much." I say blushing even more.

" Okay, one more thing to talk about. The costume."

" Oh great." I say smiling

" One thing I want to do with you this season is to bring you out of your shell. Your 20 now and people don't need to look at you like your 17 again. You're a woman now and can wear adult outfits."

" I want to stay classy but be sexy. I don't want to look like a slut."

" You won't. You will look like a hot sexy 20 year old that has a bagging body. You have a nice body and we're going to show it off."

" Okay, I trust you."

" That's what I like to hear."

We discuss what we are going to wear for what seems like an hour.

" Hey if we're done I'm going to go home and go to bed. We have a early flight tomorrow." I say

" Of course. I will see you bright and early in the morning."

I reach up and give Derek a hug.

" Bye"

We're still on the plane. We have a while before we get to Des Moines.

" Hey Shawn are you awake?"

" Well I was sleeping."

" Oh sorry for waking you. I just can't sleep."

" Why?"

" I don't know. I have never been one that can sleep flying. I get so bored on long flights."

" At least we're flying. You know how long it would be if we drove."

" Your right."

" I am going back to sleep. We have a busy week ahead. Goodnight."

" Goodnight."

We have arrived in Des Moines. They have a car waiting for us. I immediately hop in the drivers seat. Derek frowns when he sees me.

" I have to drive and show you around. You don't know how to get to my house."

" I guess your right."

" Are we going to your house or your parents house?"

" My house. I moved out last year. I have been on my own ever since and I love the freedom."

" I bet."

We get to my house and get our bags unloaded and in the house.

" I will show you your room." I lead Derek down the hallway and show him the spare bedroom. He will be staying in here for the next two days. I head to my bedroom to unpack my bags. I hear Derek saying something but I can't quite hear him.

" Derek I can't hear you." Derek comes in my bedroom.

" I said did you hear about Paula being a guest judge this week."

" Yes I heard. I'm excited."

" Me too. What time do we have to be at the gym to meet the girls?"

" In an hour."

" Do you want to go grab a bite. I'm starving."

" Yes, because I don't have anything to eat here. I'm driving." I say smiling

" Okay"

I pull in at MacDonald's. We get our food and then head to the gym. We walk into the gym and I see the girls standing in the middle of the floor talking. I run up and hug them all. I'm so happy to see them.

" I'm so happy to see all of you." I see Derek walking up behind me.

" This is Derek, Derek the girls."

" No introduction needed. I know all of them." Derek says he goes up and gives them all a hug.

" It's so glad to see all of you again. I have missed ya'll so much." I say

We stay and talk to the girls for a couple hours.

" Are you ready to go to practice?" Derek asks

" Yeah. Come here guys." I give them all a hug and we say our goodbyes.

" Do you know somewhere we can practice?" I ask

" Of course. The show found us a place for the next few days."

" Okay"

I drive maybe ten minutes with Derek giving me directions of the gps. We finally reach the studio where we are going to be practicing. We walk into the building and one of the rooms that's suppose to be ours. I stretch while Derek puts the cd in the radio. I get done stretching and wait for Derek's instructions for the beginning of the dance.

" I have a really good idea to start of the dance." Derek says

" Okay. What is it?"

" Well I listened to the music last night and I didn't like the song. Its all one line of music instead of having some upbeat parts in the song. I stayed up and worked on the song a little bit. I changed the beginning of it to where I have some drums and I play that and there is a curtain behind me. I play the drums for a couple seconds then they curtain drops and your behind it in your itty bitty outfit." Derek says smirking

" Are you smirking at me Mr. Hough?" I ask blushing

" Why yes is am Miss Johnson."

" Okay I like the idea. Go ahead."

" Okay so then we can do this really cool trick to start the dance."

" I love doing tricks."

" I know. This dance is going to have quite a few."

" Good."

We do the flip at the beginning of the dance. We lay some mats out so if I fall it wont hurt to bad. Derek explains some more of the dance that he wants to do.

" Instead of relying on these mats why don't we go to Chow's gym and do it on those."

" Would he be okay with that?"

" Yes, I will call him to make sure."

I call Chow and of course he has no problem with us coming to practice. We drive to the gym. I haven't been here in what feels like years. I will feel more safe falling on these mats then the ones we were practicing with.

" Okay here we go."

" I'm excited."

We do the flip and he doesn't drop me. I'm not to worried about him dropping me I feel safe. We practice some of the dance and some more of the flips that Derek wants to do. I don't learn the whole dance. I don't even learn half of it. Derek is giving me some good choreography this week but I love a challenge. We take a break and I go onto the beam and sit down.

" What is the agenda for today and tomorrow?" Derek asks

" We have the girls tour show tonight. Then tomorrow I guess we will have practice and then get on a flight back to LA that night."

" Okay I'm excited about watching their show tonight."

" Me too. I love watching them. They may want us to dance for the crowd."

" Well what dance would we do. We don't have this one learned. All we have learned are the tricks."

" I guess we could do that for them."

" We could, but I don't want you to get hurt. We don't have them 100 percent perfect yet."

" Okay, then I guess we could just say something if they asks us to."

" There is one more trick I want to practice. Then we can leave to go get ready for the show."

" Okay."

" I'm going to explain it before we try and do it. Your going to stand in front of me. I will run and jump over your head and you will grab my belt buckle. I will hopefully land on my feet and you will do a backbend. I will the kick your head up with my foot."

" Are you serious. I understand all of it but grab your belt buckle. You know how hard that will be."

" That's why we have 5 days to practice it before the show Monday."

" I just don't want to miss the belt buckle and grab something else." I say blushing

" And what would that be?" Derek asks smiling

" You know exactly what I'm talking about." I say getting redder by the minute.

" Okay I wont make you say it. That will be bad if you miss the buckle. We will just hope you don't miss it."

" Okay I'm fine with the rest of it. That is just the one thing that freaks me out. I trust you with the rest of it."

" I trust you to grab my belt buckle." Derek says laughing

" Well lets try it." I say smiling

We try the trick three of fours times. We finally get it done with no mistakes.

" That wasn't so bad." Derek says

" Yeah, just a little uncomfortable for me." I say smiling

" Are you ready to go back to your house?" Derek asks

" Yeah lets go."

We stop by a fast food place and get something to eat. Then we go back to my house.

" Hey Derek I am going to get in the shower. Make yourself at home."

" Okay. Let me know when your out. I need to take one too."

I have a shower and just have a towel wrapped around me. I also have my hair wrapped in a towel. I walk out of the bathroom walk down the hallway to my bedroom. While I'm walking to my bedroom Derek is walking the opposite way and we collide into each other.

" Oh my goodness, Derek!" I scream

" I am so sorry. Are you okay?"

" Umm besides being wrapped in a towel naked and laying on the ground I am perfect." I say blushing

" I didn't mean to run into you. I think you look pretty good. I wish the towel would have came off when you landed on the ground." Derek says smirking

I get up from the floor as graceful as I can without showing anything.

" I can not believe you just said that." I say while smacking him in the arm.

" I couldn't help myself I love watching you blush. Why aren't you dressed anyways."

" I forgot my clothes. I had to come back to my bedroom to get dressed. I was also going to tell you I was out of the shower."

" Well we can clearly see that. I am going to take a shower." Derek says smiling

" Okay." I walk into my bedroom to get dressed.

I have been waiting on Derek to get out of the shower. He has been taking for ever and I still have to dry my hair and do my make up. I finally decide to knock on the bathroom door.

" Hey Derek I need to dry my hair and put my make up on. How much long are you going to bed in there?"

" I cant hear you. I'm still in the shower. You can come in here and tell me."

I stick my head into the room and repeat what I just said.

" You can come in here and dry your hair. I will tell you when I'm done so you can leave." Derek says

I am half way done drying my hair when I hear the water cut off.

" I am done. It wont take me long to dry off then you can come back in here."

I leave the bathroom and sit on the couch waiting for him to come out. I look up and see him walking out of the room. He has a towel wrapped around his waist. He turns around and looks at me.

" I figured since you could run around in your towel I could mine." Derek says laughing

" Okay fair enough. I'm not complaining. You look pretty good." I say trying to hold back from laughing

" Touché Miss Johnson."

We finish getting ready and head to the stadium to watch the tour.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

We got done watching the girl tour and were fixing to go home when I got a text from my mom.

" _Shawn why don't you and Derek come by for dinner. Would love to have you." _

I think it would be a good idea but I'm not sure about Derek.

" Do you have any plans for the rest of the night?" I ask him

" No do you?"

" Well my mom just text me and asked me if we wanted to come by for dinner. Do you want to go? If you don't you don't have too."

" I would love too. I like your mom and dad. Couldn't possibly turn down a home cooked meal."

" Okay I will text her and let her know we're coming."

" _Yeah mom we will be there in a minute." _

We get to my moms house in no time. That's one thing I love about being in Des Moines it's a small town and don't take you long to get places. We walk up to the front door. I don't knock and just walk right on in.

" Mom we're here."

" I'm in the kitchen."

I walk into the kitchen with Derek not far behind me. My moms stops what she's doing and gives me a hug.

" I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

" I know. I feel the same way. Where is dad?"

" He's still at work he'll be home in a few minutes."

My mom walks over and gives Derek a hug.

" Hey Derek, I'm glad you joined Shawn."

" Me too. You have a lovely home."

" Thank you."

I hear my dog barking. I turn around and fall to my knees to gets as the same level as the dog.

" Tucker! That's a good boy! Derek this is my favorite guy Tucker."

" Oh that hurt." Derek says dropping to his knees to pet the dog.

" Okay, my second favorite guy." I say laughing

" That's better."

" Hey mom I'm going to give Derek a tour of the house."

" Okay dinner should be ready in fifteen minutes."

I give Derek a tour of all the bedrooms. I save mine for last. Not many guys have been in my bedroom.

" And lastly my room." I say opening my bedroom door.

" You have a lot of pictures in here."

" Yeah there is a lot of stuff I didn't take with me. I figured when I moved out mom would make my room something else but it still looks the same as it did the day I left. I still come here sometimes. I will just be down in the dumps and come here to think and will stay for weeks at a time. I love my family I don't know what I would do without them."

" I understand. Family is really important to me also. I really loving have such a big family. My favorite thing to do in the off season of the show is to spend time with my sisters and their kids."

" I wish I had siblings. That's the main thing I want in the future is a big family."

" I wish I had a brother. Being the only boy was hard but thankfully I have brother in laws. I also have Mark."

" Yeah he is a great person to be around."

" Most definitely."

Derek and I walk around my room and look at all my trophies. He asks questions about gymnastics and the Olympics in 2008. I decided when I moved that I would leave my trophies and medals here. I feel like they are safer here more than at my house. At some point I will bring them with me. I let Derek try on my medals.

" Shawn, Derek, supper is ready."

" Coming mom."

Derek takes the medals off and we head towards the table.

" I feel like I'm in high school again and I brought a boy over to meet my parents."

" Well that's kind of what it is. Besides the fact that your 20 and not in high school. Oh and I am a man not a boy." he starts laughing

" True" I say smiling back at him

We have small talk throughout all of dinner. My parents talk to Derek like they have known him for years. Its great that they like him so much. After we eat dinner we decide to go to my house. Its been such a long an exhausting day.

" Mom and dad we are going to head home. We have had a tough day and have a flight at 10 in the morning."

" Okay I will see you Monday for the show." My mom says

Mom, dad and I all exchange hugs. Mom gives Derek a hug and dad shakes his hand.

" Bye love ya'll." I say walking out of the door. Derek's walking out behind me.

" Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Johnson for a great dinner."

" Anytime Derek. You will definitely have to come over again."

" The girls we're amazing tonight." Derek says

" Yeah I love watching them perform." I say walking into my house.

" Do you want to watch a movie? I can rent one. Its only 9:00."

" Sure, I have got to change clothes and I'll be right back."

" Okay I'm going to go change too."

I walk into my bedroom to change into my pajamas. I walk back into the living room and see Derek sitting on my couch with no shirt on and some loose sweat pants. I walk into the kitchen to hide blushing face.

" Do you want anything to eat?" I ask him

" Do you possibly have any nachos or peanut m&ms?"

I let out a little laugh. " Ha! I haven't been here in a few weeks. But let me look."

I look in my cabinets knowing I'm not going to find what he wants.

" I have one bad of popcorn. Luckily."

" Well dang. I guess I'll have to live with that."

I put the popcorn in the microwave then walk to the closet and pull out some blankets. I throw them at Derek.

" If your going to run around naked your going to get cold." I say laughing

" Your right. You know you like it. I mean look at me and my 6 pack."

" Yes Derek you look great. I can barley keep my eyes off of you." I say smirking

I go and get the popcorn out of the microwave and sit beside Derek. Ten minutes later we have a movie picked out. We are sitting side by side. My legs are crossed on the couch. He is sitting with both of his legs on the floor and his arm thrown over the back of the couch. Not very far from my neck. I have the cover draped over our legs. We have the bowl of popcorn between us.

I wake up sometime later and I notice my head is laying on Derek's bare chest. I raise my head up and to my surprise Derek is wide awake watching something on tv.

" I'm sorry I feel asleep on you. I say looking at the clock and its 11:30. I start to get up and Derek very lightly grabs my arm.

" Your fine. I don't mind at all. You can go back to sleep on me if you want to. I was just fixing to go to sleep."

I hesitate and then lay me head back down on his chest. He reaches for the remote beside him and cuts the tv off. He leans his head over and goes to sleep with his arm draped over my body and my arm across his naked stomach.

I wake up the next morning and I'm in my bed. I'm not really sure how I got here. I never knew of myself to be a sleep walker. I remember going to sleep on the couch with Derek. I look at my clock and its 7:30. I get out of bed and walk into the living room. I see Derek sitting on my couch eating.

" Good Morning." he says cheerfully

" Morning"

" I cooked eggs and biscuits. There hot and ready in the kitchen if you want some."

" Where did you get any food?"

" I hope you don't mind but I drove your car to the store. I was starving and you didn't have anything to eat."

" I don't mind. I'm glad you cooked I am starving."

I walk into the kitchen and fix me a plate of food. I walk back into the living room and sit down beside Derek.

" Did you sleep well last night?" I ask him

" Yes. Really well."

" Can I ask you a question?"

" Of course."

" How did I get in my bed?"

" I woke up at 6:00 this morning. After I got up you looked uncomfortable on the couch. I carried you into your bedroom and put you in bed."

" Oh okay. I remembered going to sleep on the couch and the woke up in my bed. I was just wondering how I got in there."

" You looked so comfortable sleeping on my chest but I was starving and had to pee. I hated to wake you up that early."

" I was pretty comfortable last night." I say grinning like an idiot.

Its 10:00 and Derek and I are on the plane headed to LA.

" Did you have a good time?" I ask him

" Yes. To be honest I was expecting it to be kind of boring. You know little small town of Des Moines but I wasn't bored at all. Shawn Johnson you really know how to show someone a good time."

" I'm glad. I honestly thought you were going to be bored too and be wishing the whole time you wouldn't have came."

" I'm glad I came. The best part was just spending quality time with you. You are so downed to earth and I learned so much about you and your family."

" I'm glad you came too. I had fun spending time with you too. I feel like I learned so much more about you."

" Yeah like how I sleep with no shirt."

" Exactly" I say laughing


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

A/n Things are finally getting interesting. I hope I'm not being boring. May have another chapter up today. - Mallory

We have been working our tails off all week and its finally Monday. I have a dress rehearsal this morning and then the show tonight. Paula Abdul is a guest judge tonight so we could get possibly 40 points instead of 30. I walk in my trailer and Derek is already sitting in there. I see my costume hanging up. My mouth drops when I see it.

" Do you like it?"

" It doesn't have much to it. I love it but I don't think I'm going to be able to pull it off."

" Shawn there are only one or two people on the show including the pros that can pull this off. You're the main one that can. You have a smoking hot body with abs and muscles everywhere and anywhere you can have muscles. I have a few more costumes you can wear if you don't like this one. I think it will make the dance if you wear it. Just please try it on."

" Okay I guess I will."

I go in the bathroom and try it on. I actually love it but it's the thought of wearing it on live tv and in front of millions of people that scares me. I have not been that confident lately in myself so I just don't know about wearing it. I walk out of the bathroom. Derek turns around and looks at me and his mouth drops open.

" Is this a good mouth dropping moment or a you need to put your clothes back on?" I ask him

" Are you kidding me? Of course this is a great mouth dropping moment. You look incredible. Only one thing wrong."

" What?"

He walks over to me and pulls the bottom part of the outfit down a little bit.

" You're a woman now. I want people to see you as a woman not a 17 year old girl anymore."

" Okay"

We hear somebody bagging on the door.

" Shawn? Derek? Are you guys in there?" Mark hollers. He doesn't give us time to respond before he opens the door.

" Hot damn Shawn. You look amazing. You have a great body and you should show it off more." Mark says

" That's what I have been telling her all week. She is one of the most athletic and in shape person on the show."

" She is and she looks damn good. She shouldn't be ashamed to wear something like that. If you were my partner I would have you in something with less fabric than that." Mark says

" Okay guys just talk about me like I'm not standing here." I say waving my arms in the air.

" Sorry" they both say

" Okay I'm going to get changed." I say

" No, why don't you wear that all day?" Derek says laughing

" Yeah I agree." Mark responds

" Ya'll are hilarious." I say not smiling and giving them a dirty look.

I walk into the bathroom to change. I love how Derek compliments me and he doesn't sound so fake. He is getting me to do stuff I never thought I would. He amazes me all the time. I walk back out of the bathroom and Mark and Derek are talking.

" I was talking to one of the helpers on the show and they said ya'll are first to walk out. I didn't know if you knew and I was just going to inform you."

" Thank you that makes my nerves sky rocket even more." I say

" Okay well on that note I'm going to leave. You look smoking hot don't worry about it." Mark says as he comes over to me and gives me a hug and a kiss on the head.

Derek is sitting on the couch looking at me when Mark leaves.

" Babe what's wrong?" he asks taking my hand and pulling me into his lap.

" Nothing" I whisper

" Don't give me that. I've known you for 4 weeks and have spent basically every minute with you. I can tell when something is wrong with you."

" I'm just nervous about tonight."

" Shawn, you look great. I wouldn't be praising you for this long if you didn't look amazing."

" No matter how many times you tell me I look good it still doesn't change anything. I am going to dance on live tv in front of millions while wearing an itty bitty costume and doing flips all over the place."

" I have faith in you that you will do great. Would you feel better to dance in a different costume. I have another one you can wear."

" No I will wear this one. I just will have to woman up and get over it."

" That's what I like to hear. I would be a little disappointed if you didn't wear this one. You look so good in it."

" Thank you" I say blushing

The time has finally come for the show to start. We are the first one to walk out and I am a nervous wreck. I think Derek can tell too because he keeps holding my hand a rubbing his thumb back and forth over it. I think he is nervous but even if he was he wouldn't tell me. He wouldn't want to freak me out. We hear our names being called out and Derek gives my hand a reassuring squeeze before we walk down the steps. I hear people hollering my name and I see my family's expression in the crowd but I'm just trying to block everything out except for Derek. We finally reach our spot on the floor.

" Are you okay?" he asks me whispering in my ear.

" I feel like I'm going to vomit."

" You look amazing. Do you want to hear something to cheer you up?"

" Thank you and sure."

" I would totally do you. That's what Mark and I were talking about while you were changing. I already knew we had to walk out first I just texted Mark and told him he had to come see you in your itty bitty outfit."

I turn around and look at him. He is grinning from ear to ear about to bust out laughing. I'm not really sure if he is kidding or not. I hope he's kidding and then there is a part of me that hopes he's not.

" Are you being serious or did you just make that up to embarrass me?"

" I wouldn't have ever thought to make that up. I mean it 150 percent."

I see that we have gone to commercial. I turn around and smack him in the arm.

" I can not believe you just said that to me."

" Well believe it and its true." He falls on his knees laughing at me and Mark walks over to us.

" Are you okay?" he asks Derek

" Yeah I just told Shawn what we were talking about earlier while she was changing clothes."

Mark starts laughing " I cant believe you actually told her."

" I wasn't going to and then she was in the dumps about her outfit so I needed to make her smile."

" Well that didn't work. I just turned the shade of a tomato. No smile here." I say while smacking Mark in the arm.

" Why did you hit me?"

" Oh she hit me too man. I think she might be upset."

" Guys will be guys. You cant blame a man for thinking that. I'm sure every guy in America is thinking the same thing right now." Mark says

" Well then they can just keep thinking that. I say

Derek pulls me into a hug. " I'm sorry if we made you upset. I love you." he says

" Love you too" I say

To break the awkwardness Mark says " Family group hug." And he joins our hug

We have 5 minutes before its our turn to dance.

" Can we practice one more time?"

" No you have done it great with no mistakes. If we do it to much you might start freaking out and forget it."

" Fine."

Its our time to dance. Before we walk out there they show our footage of the past week. While they are showing that I walk to my starting position behind the curtain. I start practicing the moves while I'm waiting to start Derek comes up behind me. He grabs me gently and turns me around towards him. I'm in higher heels than normal and he is leaning down a little bit so his forehead is leaning down on mine.

" Shawn I don't think I've told you lately how proud of you I am. You are one of the best partners I've ever had. Each week you inspire me and push me to give you the best choreograph I can give you. You are wearing this costume for me and you feel so uncomfortable in it but your putting that aside for me and the fans. I just wanted to say thank you for what you have done for me so far and some of it you may not even realize you have done."

" Derek you are my best friend. We have came so close just in the short time we have really known each other. I trust you more than I trust anyone. You haven't let me down or lied to me and I don't think you will. I could go on for hours but its about time to dance." I say smiling

He leans down and his lips meet mine. They are soft and the kiss is sweet. I hesitate a second and then kiss him back. He pulls away from me.

" I'm sorry. I have been wanting to do that for a while." Derek says

" Its perfectly fine. I've wanted the same thing." I say while reaching up and kissing him again. Its just a short peck because we hear the camera man saying 5,4,3,2,1 and then Derek is gone.

After we finish the dance Derek picks me up and swings me around in his arms.

" You did great! I couldn't have asked you to do any better! And you looked incredible!"

" Thank you. I just blocked everything thing out but you and acted like we were in practice."

" Well it worked regardless of the judges score you did amazing." he squeezes me one more time and then sets me down to get our scores.

We get a 10 from Carrie Ann, 9.5 from Len, 10 from Paula and a 10 from Bruno. I couldn't be happier with the scores. We walk backstage to get our makeup retouched up. One woman comes up to me and looks at my shoe.

" Did you know you danced with a broken shoe?"

" No I didn't."

" I noticed while you were talking to Brooke you shoe heel is broke."

" Are you serious? I had no idea."

" No idea about what?" Derek comes up behind her and asks

" I danced with a broken heel on my shoe."

" That is amazing. I'm surprised you didn't fall with all those flips and tricks. You must've broken it while we were practicing."

" Must've. Thank you for telling me." I say to the woman.

" So I want to talk but we don't have time."

" Do you want to come over to my place after the show?"

" Sure"

I see Mark walking up behind Derek and try and change the subject.

" So how long do we have to do press tonight?"

" The usual I guess."

Mark comes up to me and gives me a hug.

" Babe you did amazing tonight. Derek wouldn't tell me anything about yall's dance but you did great. You looked like a professional out there."

" Thank you. We have definitely worked out buts off this week. We had to try and top last weeks dance."

" I think we topped it." Derek says

" Yeah I do too." Mark adds

" I hope so."

We have finished the press line and I'm on my way home. All I can think about is Derek and our kiss. I wanted it to happen but if we don't work out how could we possibly dance with each other every week and see each other every day. We just need to take it one day at a time. I'm trying to come up with some things that we need to talk about but my brain is scattered all over the place. I get to my apartment and rush in trying to pick up the mess before Derek gets here. I get it looking halfway decent and sit down on the couch. I get my phone out of my purse to check my messages. I have tons of tweets and Instagram notifications. I check my text messages and I have a few from my mom and one from Ryan. I really need to go change my number. I keep forgetting to do it. The one from my mom says " _Shawn you looked beautiful tonight. Your dad was a little worried about your costume but I reassured him. I told him you were a woman now being 20 you could wear woman things. We love you and good luck at elimination tomorrow night." _

I read the text from Ryan. " _You looked amazing tonight. I don't think you saw me but I was in the audience. We need to meet up sometime and talk. I miss you." _

I just wish I could delete him from my life. I don't know what to do. Derek and I need to talk first. I hear a knock on the door. I walk over and open it.

" Hey" he says reaching down and giving me a hug.

" Hey long time no see. Come on in." We walk over and sit down on the couch.

" Did you get your shoe fixed?" Derek asks

" Yeah they just threw it away and said they would get me another one."

" Okay that's not what I came here to talk about but I don't really do this a lot so I'm at a loss for words."

" It's okay because I'm scared too and probably more nervous than I was earlier."

" Yeah me too. I'm not going to sit here and say I think kissing you was a mistake and your just too young for me and I look at you as a sister. I did at first because you are so young but your very mature for your age. Do you think its was a mistake?"

" No I just don't want us to get involved and then everything get messed up and us not be able to dance with each other. I actually enjoyed the kiss."

" I did too. I don't think I can wait till the season is over. Seeing you everyday will just drive me crazy."

" Yeah I don't think I could either. I'm just saying lets take it slow."

" Okay" Derek says scooting closer to me on the couch. He reaches his hand up and caresses my cheek. His head leans forward and I lean mine to meet his. Our lips are about to touch when I hear a nock on the door. " You have go to be kidding me." Derek says

" I know of all the time to come." I say getting up and going to the door.

" Who is it?" I ask

" Mark and Sabrina" someone says and I look back at Derek and then open the door.

" Hey guys. Come on in."

" I seen Derek's car in your parking deck is he here?" Mark asks

" Yeah right there on the couch." I say pointing to Derek and Mark walks over there.

" Hey girl. I didn't know ya'll were coming."

" Yeah it was last minute thing. Mark even brought alcohol. I told him you didn't drink but he brought it anyway."

" Its fine."

Sabrina and I walk into the living room and I sit down beside Derek on the couch but not as closely as we were a minute ago.

" So since you brought drinks there are some cups in the cabinet." I say

" Okay." Mark says

" I'll come help you look." Sabrina says

" They have the perfect timing." Derek says sarcastically

" Yeah and their drinking so who knows when they will leave."

Derek scoots closer to me and put his hand on my thigh. I put my hand on top of his and start rubbing my thumb back and forth.

" If you keep doing that I will personally kick them out." Derek whispers in my ear making my body shiver.

" I would be okay with that."

We hear Mark and Sabrina walking back. I pull my hand off of Derek's but he keeps his hand on my thigh. Mark comes walking back in first and his eyes automatically go to Derek's hand. He opens his mouth to say something then closes it.

" Here you go." Sabrina says handing Derek a cup.

" Here's yours Shawn." Mark says

" I don't drink."

" One glass is not going to kill you."

" But I don't want it."

" Just drink it. You will lighten up a little bit."

" Leave her alone if she don't want to drink it she doesn't have too." Derek says firmly

" Its fine, give me the damn cup." I take the cup from Mark and take a drink.

" See its not that bad." Mark says

We sit in a awkward silence for what feels like eternity. My phone dings and I pick it up off the table. I look at the caller id and its Ryan. He says " _Babe did you get my message. Please talk to me." _

I don't reply and set it back down on the table. While we are talking it dings three or four more times.

" Dang Shawn you are important tonight." Mark says

" Yeah its just Ryan. He wont leave me alone." When I say that Derek takes his hand off my thigh and walks into the kitchen.

" I wonder what got him fired up." Sabrina says

" He don't really like Ryan." I say while walking into the kitchen.

" Are you okay?" I ask Derek

" Yeah are you?"

" I was and then you got mad. Remember Derek I've known you for 4 weeks I know when your mad."

" Ryan just really pisses me off."

" Yes he does me too. Well I'm not going to start hiding anything from you. He was at the show tonight and he said he misses me and wants to talk."

Derek tenses up and frowns "What did you say back?"

" I said that I'm talking to my extremely hot dance teacher and that he has all my attention right now." I say grinning and walking over to Derek. He is standing with his arms crossed across his chest. I take his arms and wrap them around my waist. I look up into his eyes.

" Extremely hot?" Derek asks laughing

" Yes. I say grinning. But no I didn't text him back I just wanted to see you laugh. I'm not going to text him back I don't want to talk to him right now."

" I could text him back if you wanted me too."

" Then he would know that we are whatever we are."

" True"

" So are we good? Are you happy again?"

" Only one thing wrong."

" What is it?"

He turns me around to where my back is against the counter and then puts me up on top of the counter. I'm careful not to laugh to loud with Mark and Sabrina in the room beside us.

" Now this is better." he says while leaning his lips down on mine.

" Way better." I say while wrapping my arms around the back of his neck and he wraps his arms around my waist.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

I wake up the next morning and I am laying on Derek's chest. He is laying on his back with his right arm wrapped around my shoulder. I have my head on his chest and my arm thrown across his torso. I don't want to move but I am about to burn up. It feels like its 100 degrees in my apartment. I slide out of his arms without waking him up. I go and fix the thermostat and use the bathroom. I noticed that Mark and Sabrina aren't here. They didn't drive home last night because they had been drinking. I check the clock on my way back to the living room and its 10:00. I guess they got up early this morning and left. That is probably better because that would be awkward to wake up with Derek and them be sitting there looking at us. I get back to the couch and lay down in the same position I was in earlier. When I get comfortable I hear Derek groan. I look up at him.

" Good morning babe" he says while kissing the top of my head.

" Good morning"

" How long have you been up?" he asks

" Not long. Its 10:00 and Mark and Sabrina aren't here. I guess they left some time this morning."

" Yeah he got pretty drunk last night."

" He sure knows how to drink."

" I don't remember him drinking that much during season 8 but I was a teenager and didn't go to the clubs with him."

" Yeah as he's gotten older he drinks more. There's nothing wrong with it as long as he don't drink and drive."

" Right. Are you hungry? I can fix us some breakfast/lunch if you want something."

" No I'm not that hungry and I'm fixing to head home. I need a shower and to get to the studio for elimination tonight."

" Your right. We're probably late."

I get up from the couch and walk into the bathroom to brush my teeth. If he decides to kiss me I don't want my breath to smell awful. I walk back into the living room and all the blankets are neatly folded and the pillows are in their right places on the couch.

" Sorry I am a little bit of a neat freak."

" It's fine with me it probably wouldn't have gotten folded till this weekend." I say laughing

I walk Derek to the door to say goodbye. When we get to the door his hand reaches up to caress my cheek. He leans down and I reach up standing on my tip toes. He brings his mouth down onto mine.

He pulls away " I don't think I will ever get tired of doing that."

" I hope not. I had a great time last night even though it didn't go completely as planned. We at least had enough time to talk."

" I had a great time too. I am glad we got to talk I have been wanting to have that conversation for a while."

I reach up and peck him on the lips. The first time I ever kissed him first.

" I will see you in a little bit." I say

" Bye"

I shut the door and he is gone. I think this is going to be a good thing between us. I haven't felt like this in long time. I have missed it. One of the hardest things is going to be hiding it. They have cameras in the studio rooms where we practice, paparazzi following us, and all of our friends could walk in on us at any moment. I really want what ever we have to work out so we will just have to try very hard to keep it a secret.

I get to the show's studio at 1:00. I think I am kind of late but my hair is still curly from yesterday and it doesn't take them long to do my make up. I walk into my trailer to put all my bags down. I then go to the make up room. I sit in the chair beside Sabrina.

" Hey" she says

" Hey did you have a good time last night?"

" Yeah Mark is even funnier when he's drunk."

" Yes he is. What time did you leave this morning?"

" We left about 8:00. You looked so comfortable laying on Derek we didn't want to wake you up."

" Oh… ummm.. You saw that?"

" Yes Mark and I both seen it. You two look great together."

" Shhh we don't want anybody to know. Heck I don't even know what we are. Yesterday before the performance he just came up to me and told me these things and then kissed me. I asked him to come by the house later and we would talk about it. That's why he was there when you got there."

" Oh well dang Shawn you should have told me and I would have made us leave."

" Its fine. We were mostly done talking when you got there. He hasn't made it official yet but we have kissed one or two more times."

" That's so sweet. You deserve someone like him. He is a sweet and genuine guy."

" Yeah he is the sweetest." I say blushing

I walk back to my trailer to change into my dress. We have about an hour or so before the show starts. I take my shirt and pants off and hear someone knock.

" Shawn are you in there?" Derek asks

" Hold" and before I can get the rest of the sentence out Derek opens the door. I am not completely naked I have my bra and panties still on.

" Derek" I holler and he slams the door back shut. Luckily there is a robe beside me and I put it on. I walk over to the door and he is sitting on the steps.

" You can come in now." I say blushing

" Sorry I should have waited till you answered."

" Its fine at least I wasn't totally naked. That would have been bad I probably would never show my face in front of you again."

Derek starts laughing " You can finish changing and I will just leave you to it."

" No its fine. Please stay." I say giving him my best puppy dog eyes.

" How could I say no to you?"

I go in the bathroom and change into my Mambo outfit. The more I wear it the more I like it. I walk out of the bathroom and Derek's sitting on the couch I go and sit beside him. When I sit down he throws one arm around my shoulder and pulls me closer to him.

" You look great."

" Thank you. You looked pretty good yourself."

" You know I never knew you had a tattoo."

" Yeah" I stand up and pull my dress down a little bit to where he can see it.

" I like it. I never could see you having one."

" Yeah not many people know I have it." I say sitting back down beside him.

" Are you nervous about elimination tonight?"

" I always am nervous about eliminations because I'm just not ready to go home."

" I know me either. I'm not ready for it to end this has been an amazing season so far."

" Yeah way better than the original seasons. I am just so glad they asked me to come back and partnered me with you."

" So you like me better than Mark?"

" Yes"

" Good I was getting a little worried. You never answer the question when people ask you."

" Well I wouldn't want to hurt Mark's feelings by saying that I like you better and am having a better time."

" Your right. That probably would upset him. Totally changing the subject but I have a question to ask you."

" Okay what is it?"

" Shawn Johnson… will you be my girlfriend?"

" Of course. I was waiting for you to ask but I didn't want to be pushy."

" I just had to talk to myself and get the courage to ask you."

" I would have said yes if you would have texted me and asked me." I say smiling

" Good"

Derek pulls me into his lap and I wrap my arms around his neck. His lips lock to mine and I can feel his tongue skimming my bottom lip asking for entrance. I open my mouth and I feel his cool tongue. Our tongues go back and forth with each other. We keep kissing till we have to break apart for air. We're both panting.

" You're a great kisser." Derek says

" Thank you, I try." I say giving Derek a kiss on the lips.

" We should probably go to the studio."

" Yeah people will start wondering where we are."

I stand up and grabs Derek's hand to help him up. We walk out of my trailer hand in hand.

We are one of the first couple to get told we are safe. They tell us that we are going to get the two couples with the highest accumulated score and we're going to pick teams and do a group dance. Derek and I and Gilles and Peta are the team captains. Gilles and Peta pick first and then Derek and I. We go back and forth until we have our team. On our team is us, Sabrina and Louis, and Melissa and Tony. We got the song Call Me Maybe and Derek wasn't too happy because the other team got Gangnam Style. The show is over and Mark and Bristol got sent home. I feel bad for him and her. Derek and I go and find him as soon as the show is over.

" Hey Mark" I say and Derek follows saying the same

" Hey" he says

I walk up to him and give him a hug. " It sucks ya'll got sent home."

" Yeah" he says

" I wish you could stay on the show anyways."

" Yeah me too."

I let go of hugging him and then Derek hugs him.

" Well I have got to go and catch a flight."

" All right. I will see you in later."

I wrap my arms around Derek's waist and he wraps his arms around mine with his chin resting on my head. He kisses the top of my head.

" It sucks he has to go home."

" Yeah I always hate when people get eliminated."

" Me too and especially good friends."

" Are you ready to go do press?"

" Yeah lets go."

I take my arms off of Derek's waist and he takes my hand and our fingers intertwine. I'm looking him deeply in the eyes fixing to kiss him when I hear someone walking up behind us. I turn around and there is somebody I didn't think I would see….


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

_Flashback: I take my arm off Derek's waist and he takes my hand and our fingers intertwine. I'm looking him deeply in the eye fixing to kiss him when I hear someone walking up. I turn around and there is someone I didn't think I would see. _

" SHANNON! I scream.

I let go of Derek's hand and run up to her. I engulf her in a hug.

" What are you doing here?" I ask her

" I wanted to watch you dance in person. I got tickets and wanted to surprise you."

" It worked. I am definitely surprised!"

" Good, I have missed you so much." She says

While she is hugging me I remember Derek is behind me. When she lets go of me I walk over to Derek.

" Shannon, this is my dance partner Derek Hough. Derek this is Shannon Lynch."

They shake hands.

" Nice to meet you." Derek says

" You too."

" I would love to stay and talk but we have press to do. Then we have practice for our group dance. Do you want to hang out tomorrow?"

" That sounds good to me. Do you want to go to dinner?"

" Sure. How long are you here for?"

" One week. I already have my flight set for Tuesday morning."

" Okay good, we will have plenty of time to catch up. I will see you tomorrow." I say reaching out and giving her a hug.

" It was nice to meet you Derek." Shannon says

" Yes, nice meeting you." Derek replies

After she leaves I turn towards Derek.

" Are you ready to go now?"

" Yeah" he says while taking my hand and walking towards the press line.

We finally get done with press and then have to go to the studio. I pull into the parking lot and see Derek's car already here. He is sitting in the car and when I pull in he opens the door. I get out of my car and walk over to his. He motions for me to get into the car. I get in the passenger side.

" What do you need?" I ask laughing. I feel like we are spies.

" I wanted to talk to you."

" Okay about what."

" Well with us practicing with the other couples we have to be extra careful. They cant find out we're dating."

" Yeah… umm… about that… Sabrina already knows."

" How did she find out?" Derek asks sitting up a little bit in his seat clearly terrified.

" When I was getting my make up done earlier we were talking about last night and them staying over and what time they left. Then she said that I looked comfortable laying on you and I was like oh you saw that. She said yeah Mark and I both did. She told me that we made a cute couple. I told her that there might be something going on between us but we didn't want anyone to know about it."

" As long as she doesn't say anything to anyone."

" I don't think she will."

" Lets hope not. You know how much the cast would rag us if they found out."

" Yeah it would be pretty bad. Well lets go practice. We are running kind of late." I say pulling on the door handle opening the door.

" Wait" Derek says

I turn back around facing him. We are nose to nose.

" I may not get to do this for a while." He says while putting his hands on both sides of my face. He pulls my face towards his and our lips touch. I love the feeling of his soft lips touching mine. Skin on skin. He deepens the kiss a little bit more and our hands start running up and down each others bodies. We pull apart when we see a car pulling up beside us. We both get out of the car and walk side by side our hands swaying against each others as we walk.

Derek leans down and whispers in my ear " Here we go." Then kisses my head and I look up at him grinning like a idiot.

We walk into the room and Sabrina, Melissa, and Karina are sitting on the steps talking. Apolo, Tony, and Louis are standing in the middle of the floor.

" It's about time you guys got here." Melissa says

" Sorry I had a friend come in to see me and we were late to the press line." I say

" Was it your ex-boyfriend Ryan?" She asks

" No, Ryan and I are done. We have been for a while." I say looking up at Derek and I can tell his is pissed off. Anytime he hears Ryan's name something in him just snaps and he gets angry.

" I thought ya'll we're talking again." Melissa says

" No" I retort hatefully. Maybe she will get the hint I don't want to talk about him. Derek walks over to the cd player and puts it in. I am standing there alone with Melissa. I guess I cant really be upset with her for talking about Ryan. She doesn't know Derek gets mad when he hears Ryan's name. I just hope it didn't make him mad. I walk over to the steps and sit down beside Sabrina and Karina.

" We were just talking about outfits for the dance." Karina says

" Yeah we are thinking maybe doing a football and cheerleading theme. We would be wearing cheer uniforms." Sabrina says

" That sounds fun." I reply

Karina gets up and goes to talk to Derek, Tony, and Louis about the dance.

" Are you alright?" Sabrina asks

" Yeah"

" I heard what Melissa was asking you. And I seen that Derek was right beside you when she asked."

" Yeah I was a little mad at first because Derek gets mad every time he hears Ryan's name. But Melissa doesn't know that and I just don't want Derek to be upset."

" I understand. I'm really excited about this group dance."

" Me too. I hope it's going to be fun."

" I actually love the song."

" I do too. Its so catchy. When you hear it you cant help but sing along."

" Your right I know like every word."

We have been rehearsing most of the night and its already 10:00. Derek is getting a little frustrated trying to choreograph the dance. He doesn't like the song very much. He is making up most of the dance and then our solo part. We are all sitting on the steps talking amongst each other. We're throwing out ideas for tricks.

" We have the perfect theme to do amazing tricks." Sabrina says

" I agree. We could do a real cheerleading stunt." I say

" Let's try that. Apolo and I will be your bases." Tony says

We get up and the others go to practic different things. Apolo, Tony and I are standing in the middle of the floor practicing the stunt. We go up a few times and do it perfectly. Everybody stands around watching us. I go up one more time and I don't really know what happens. My foot kind of slips out of their hands. They drop me and I catch myself on the floor with my hands. Everybody screams and I hear Derek cussing. He comes over to me.

" Are you okay?" he asks helping me stand up.

" Yeah I'm alright."

" I thought you hit your knee on the floor."

" No I caught myself with my hands."

" Why don't we go home. Its getting late and we all have practice tomorrow for our solo dances." Derek says

" When is practice again?" Melissa asks

" We could do it Friday morning. Is that okay with everybody?" Tony says

" That's good." Everybody replies

I wait on almost everyone to leave the room. Everyone is gone except for Sabrina, Derek and I. Sabrina grabs her bags and then comes up to me.

" I will see you Friday." She gives me a hug and walks out the door. Now its just Derek and I.

" How did you think practice went?" I ask him

" It went as expected. I really don't think of the song as a dancing song so its just harder for me to choreograph."

" Yeah I could tell you were getting frustrated while you were talking with Karina, Tony, and Louis."

" Yeah I was. I could tell you were mad when Melissa was talking about Ryan when we first got here. I thought you were fixing to go off."

" I was just a little mad. I can have a pretty bad temper and it takes a lot to get me mad."

" That's why I just walked off. I figured if I did she would just drop it."

" She finally did. I just didn't want you to get mad over her talking about him. I know you don't like him."

" I don't like him because of the way he treated you. You dated him for a while so I understand why she thought he might have came to visit you."

" I was mad at first but then I got to thinking that I shouldn't be. She doesn't know we're dating and that you don't like him. I couldn't really blame her for asking questions."

" I know. I wish we could tell everybody we are dating."

" Me too." I say reaching up and giving him hug. He picks me up and spins me around a few times before he sets me back down.

" Do we have practice tomorrow?"

" Yes, if that's okay."

" Its fine. I was just going to ask what time."

" Do you want to go around 8:30ish?"

" Sounds good. I am going to go its getting kind of late."

" I am too. I will walk you to your car."

" Okay."

We walk out of the studio hand in hand. He leads me to my car and opens the door for me. Since its so late there are no paparazzi outside. Thank goodness because we would definitely be caught. I slide in my seat and cut the car on. Derek is still standing there so roll down the window.

" I have to give you a goodnight kiss." Derek says blushing a little bit

" Good I'm glad you didn't forget."

He leans his head in my car and kisses me. Its soft and sweet but with a lot of passion.

" I will see you tomorrow." he says

" Bye"

I drive out of the parking lot and head home. I get home in about 20 minutes. I check my phone one more time before I put it on the charger and I have a text from Derek.

" _I just wanted to text you and tell you goodnight. I'm so glad you're my girlfriend and dance partner. I'm excited that we keep making it through every week. I don't want this season to end. Goodnight and sweet dreams." _

I hit reply and say _" I'm glad that you asked me to be your girlfriend and that you're my boyfriend. You have made this experience great for me so far and I don't want it to ever end. Goodnight and sweet dreams to you too." _

I put my phone on the charger and get into my pajamas. I lay awake thinking about how lucky I am to be dating Derek and to dance with him. He really is changing my life.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Derek and I have been in the studio for hours. He is trying to teach me our dance for the Rumba. I am picking up some of the steps but he thinks I am not giving enough emotion. I have never shown emotion in my life I was trained not to. I don't have acting abilities so I cant just turn it on and off. I can tell he is getting frustrated with me and I am getting upset with myself. This is totally new for me and it freaks me out.

" Babe, why don't we take a break."

" Okay I am going to go sit on the roof top and think about things. I will be back in a minute." I say hoping he will follow me but he doesn't make a move while I am walking to the door. I guess he thinks I want to be alone and I guess most people do so they can think properly. I walk up to the roof and lay down on the ground looking up at the sky. It's a beautiful day and I want to have a pretty view while I think. I remember having the same problems when I had to do the dance last time. I would much rather have a fun and up beat song than a slow and romantic one. I have always been the kind of person to be smiling and laughing rather than complaining and talking about my feelings with people. That's why I think I will have a easier time hiding my relationship with Derek because I don't let many people in my personal life. I feel like I have been laying here for hours and decide to head back to practice. When I get up and turn around I see Derek standing there staring back at me.

" I didn't hear you come up."

" Yeah I have been here for a little while."

" Are you stalking me?" I ask laughing

" No I just didn't know what to say."

" Oh, I just needed some time to think about the dance and showing emotion and stuff. I was getting frustrated with myself."

" I was getting upset too but not at you. I was getting upset with myself because I am not showing you how to show your emotion I am letting you get frustrated which isn't the way to do it."

" Don't get upset with yourself. Its my fault I just have been trained not to show my emotions so I choose not to now."

" But you do with me. Even the first week I new you when you got attacked by that crazy guy. You talked to me and cried in front of me."

" Yes because I have known every since I met you that I can trust you."

" Then trust me enough in this dance to show emotion. I mean we are dating so you shouldn't have to fake the chemistry." He says laughing

" I agree. And I don't have to fake the romantic stuff. I don't show it very well but I am deep down a big romantic."

" Shawn I can see all of this. I just wish you would let other people see it."

" I will try just for you." I say reaching up and giving him a hug

" Good, that's all I can ask of you is too try." He reaches down and gives me a kiss on my cheek.

" Lets go practice some more." I grab his hand and we walk back down the steps toward the studio.

" Your ass looks really good in those yoga Capri pants." He says smirking at me

" Thank you" I say blushing

We practice the dance a little bit more and I pick up the moves better. I guess it does help when you talk out your feelings with other people. I try to show as much emotion as I can but I know its not going to cut it with the judges.

" Well I think we are done for today."

" Okay."

" It was a pretty good practice. You did better since we have talked."

" I thought I did too. Thank you." I say smiling sweetly up at him

" Do you have plans tonight." He asks

" Yes I do actually. I am meeting Shannon for dinner."

" Do you want to hang out afterwards?"

" Yes, my place or yours?" I ask him

" Since we always go to your house we can hang out at mine this time."

" Okay I will text you when dinner is over."

" Alright."

I reach up and put my arms around his neck. He leans down a little bit so our foreheads are laying on top of each others.

" Your eyes look beautiful today." He whispers to me. I can feel his breath on my face and it send shivers up my body.

" Thank you. Are they gold looking?"

" Yes they look really unique."

I push my lips on top of his. His tongue is tracing my bottom lip asking for entrance. I open my mouth to let him in. We are in a heated make out session and I forget about everything except for me and him. Before I know it I am jumping in the air and he catches me. I wrap my legs around his hips with my arms around his neck. He is holding me tightly around my waist. We are as close as we could be our bodies mashed together. He turns around and has my back pushed up against the wall. His lips leave mine and travel down to my neck. He kisses my neck sliding his tongue around. He then slowly makes his way back to my mouth trailing kisses on my jaw and then my chin and finally to my mouth. Our lips meet again and this time there is more pressure. Its like all of today's frustration in one kiss. It has so much passion and I don't want to stop. I am so caught up in our kiss I barley notice that Derek has stopped kissing me.

" Sorry I got a little carried away." He says smiling shyly

" Its okay, I was enjoying it."

" I was too. I just don't want to take it too far to soon."

" Yeah me too. I just feel like I have no control when we start kissing."

" I feel the same way."

He sets me back down on the floor. When I am back on the ground he leans down and kisses my lips once more.

" Well I guess I should go now."

" I will see you tonight."

I reach up and kiss him one more time. I am excited about seeing Shannon but I absolutely cannot wait to see Derek again tonight. I walk over to the steps and get my bag. I get to the door and turn around once more to see Derek looking back at me. I smile and walk out of the room.

I have been home for a while and its finally time to meet Shannon. I get a shower and get dressed and leave my apartment. I get to the restaurant and park and notice Shannon's car in the parking lot. I walk into the building and see her sitting at the table on her phone. I walk over to her.

She stands up and gives me a hug. " Hey" She says

" Hey, how are you?"

" Pretty good"

" Are you liking LA?"

" I love it. Way better than being in Alabama we don't have much to do there."

" Yeah I bet. It's the same way in Iowa."

" So how have you been?" She asks me

" I have been great. I don't think life could get any better." I say smiling from ear to ear

" I'm happy for you. You deserve it after all you went thru with gymnastics."

" I didn't ever think I would truly be happy again. After retiring and Ryan and I separating my life was hell. I knew my body couldn't do gymnastics anymore but I didn't know what to do with my life. Its all I've known since I was 3. Then with Ryan cheating on me just made it worse. I think I have truly gotten over him. Then thank goodness DWTS called and asked me to join the cast."

" I'm so happy for you. You deserve it more than anybody I know. Have you seen Ryan?"

" Unfortunately yes. He has came to a couple of the shows and I have run into him while I was out."

" I bet that is awkward. I cant believe he has came to the shows."

" I know. It shocked me. He told me like last week that he still loved me and wanted us to get back together."

" What did you say?"

" Nothing. I didn't reply to the message. A couple weeks ago I ran into him while I was at a café ordering food. We sat down and talked and I was pretty close to getting back together with him."

" I cant believe it."

" Yeah I didn't really tell a lot of people. Especially my parents they don't like him very much."

" I wouldn't either after the way he did you."

" Yeah but lets change the subject. Kind of putting a damper on my mood." I say chuckling

We have been at the restaurant for two hours. We both finished our food.

" Well I think I am going to head back to the hotel." Shannon says

" If you get tired of staying in your hotel you can come stay with me until you leave."

" You wouldn't mind?"

" No, not at all. I just wont be there a lot with practice and the show."

" That would be okay. Thank you for offering. I will think about."

" You welcome. Just let me know what you decide."

" Okay I will."

We stand up and walk to the doors. We hug each other.

" I have missed you." I say

" Same here. Its always nice to get out of town. I enjoy just talking to you like old time."

" Me too."

We release each other and I head to my car. When I get in I text Derek and he gives me his address and directions on how to get to his house. It doesn't take me long to drive there. Thankfully I didn't get lost. I am at his door and all of sudden I get butterflies in my stomach. I knock and I know my cheeks are flustered.

" Hey" he says opening the door.

" Hey" I say. He opens the door all the way open and I walk in. He shuts the door and turns around towards me. He leans down and hugs me. I get on my tiptoes so he don't have to lean down so far.

" I missed you." he whispers in my ear

" I missed you too." I whisper back

I move my head off his shoulder. I reach back up on my tiptoes and kiss him on the mouth.

" I guess you did really miss me." he says while grabbing my hand and leading me over to the couch.

" I did" I say smiling shyly

" Did you have a good time at dinner?"

" Yeah it was good seeing her and catching up."

" I figured ya'll ate so I didn't cook anything to eat. If you get hungry I have food in the pantry."

" Okay I'm pretty full right now."

" I have us some movies picked out to watch."

" Good, what movies?"

" The Titanic, I figured if we watched the movie you could get into character."

" I love that movie so much. I could literally watch it everyday."

" I like it too. The actors do a great job in it."

" Yes especially Leonardo DiCaprio. He is dreamy looking in the movie."

" Is that why you love it so much. To watch him?" he asks laughing

" No, I love the love story between Jack and Rose. They have true love and I think it's the greatest things. I am a real romantic deep down."

" I can see that. Underneath all those muscles." He says laughing

" Hey don't mess with me. I can beat you up."

" I think I could handle you."

Before I can respond he has picked me up and thrown me over his shoulder. " Derek! Put me down!" I yell at him " I will in a minute." he reply smoothly

I can tell his is enjoying this. " No now!" I slap his butt playfully. Why does he have to have a big house. He turn towards the stairs and still hasn't put me down.

" Did you just slap my ass?"

" Maybe"

He carried me all the way to his bedroom and gently throws me on the bed. He doesn't waist any time before he jumps on the bed beside me. He grabs my arms and pulls me over toward him and starts tickling me.

" Please stop." I say barley being able to breath. I cant stop laughing my stomach is hurting.

" I though you could handle me."

I push against him with as much power as I can. I have pushed so hard somehow I fell in the floor. I use this to my advantage and start crying. I am really not crying but thankfully I have tears still on my face from laughing. I see Derek get off the bed and he has a look of pain and sadness in his eyes. He kneels down beside me.

" Shawn oh my goodness. Are you okay?"

" When I fell off the couch I hit my knee hard on the floor."

" Oh my god. I am so sorry. It was my fault. Dammit."

He puts his face in the palm of his hand. I hate that he feels so bad but this is what he gets for tickling me.

" HA! Gotcha!" I say getting up and running out of the bedroom down the steps. I run to the couch and get behind it. I hear Derek running down the steps. I rise up from the floor so now I am standing behind the couch.

" That was not funny. You had me scared to death!"

" I couldn't help it. Tickling me was not funny either."

" Fine, truce I wont tickle you anymore."

I walk around the couch to shake his out stretched hand.

" Truce." I say smiling

" Just kidding." he says bending down and picking me up. He lays me down on the couch and he puts one knee beside me. With one hand he grabs both of my hands and holds them above my head. With his other hand he tickles me. I fight as much as I can to get my hands lose but I cant. He has a good grip on them.

" De…re..k pl..ea..see. . " I barley get out. I can barley breathe.

" Okay. I will stop for right now."

" Thank you. I give up. Scouts honor."

" Your welcome. I will quit as long as you don't start fake crying again." he says laughing

" I promise."

He lets go of my hands and I sit up. He gets up and sits on the coffee table in front of the couch. I get up off the couch and go sit on his leg. When I sit down he kisses me on the cheek. I turn my head to look at him and put both my hands on his face and kiss him. Hard. We kiss until we have to stop for air. I am panting and embarrassed. I get up from his lap.

" What is it?" he asks me

" Do you have anything to drink?"

" Yes I got some coke in cans. I will get you one."

He walks in the kitchen to get it and while he's gone I look the mirror hanging up. My hair has fallen from running around. I pull it back up just when he walks in the room. He hands me the coke. I open it and it spews all over me. My shirt is soaking wet.

" Shit" I yell

" Holy crap." he says biting his lip to keep from laughing

" Did you shake it up?"

" No, I swear I didn't. I don't know why it exploded."

" Now I am going to have to go home and get a shirt."

" You can wear one of mine."

" Are you sure?"

" Yeah come up to my room and I'll get you one."

We walk into his bedroom and he goes over to a dresser and pulls out a t shirt.

" Here you go. It might be big on you."

" It will be fine. I like big t shirts."

" There is a bathroom down the hall and to the left."

" I will just change right here." I say

I take off my soaking wet shirt. I'm glad I am wearing my push up bra and its very pretty. I slips his t shirt on and it falls to my knees. I raise my head up to look at Derek and he is staring at me blushing.

" What is it?"

" Nothing."

" Oh come on Derek, you have seen me in less. I had more clothing on then I did when we danced the Mambo."

" I guess you right but this time you were standing in my bedroom."

" Yeah I could wear this as a dress." I say trying to change the subject

" You could. I told you it would be a little big."

" I like it. It smells like you."

" Does it?"

" Yeah it smells good."

" Good. Do you want to watch the movie?"

" Sure. Where are we going to watch it?"

" In here. I don't have a dvd player in the living room."

" Okay."

I walk over to his bed and lay down. He walks around the room and grabs the movie and puts it in. He walks back over the bed and lays down beside me. He scoots closer and wraps his arm around my shoulder. I snuggle up to him and put my head on his chest. He presses play and I can tell the rest of the night will be great.

_Hope you like this chapter. Sorry if there are any mistakes I didn't have time to proofread it. - Mallory _


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

I am laying on Derek's chest and he has his arm wrapped around me. His hand is traveling up and down my arm.

"That movie is great." he says while turning off the tv

"Yes it is." I say wiping the tears off my cheeks

" Are you crying?"

" Yeah, I cry every time I watch it."

" I cried the first time I seen it."

" You cried? I definitely can't see you crying over a movie." I say giggling

" I couldn't help it. Jack died and it was so sad."

" Yeah, I wish he could have lived."

I look over at the clock on the table and it reads 12:00. Dang time flies by, but the movie was very long. I sit up and cross my legs looking at him. He is still laying down on his back. He moves his hand and puts it on my calf. I move over closer to him and take his arm. I lay it across my lap and run my fingernails up and down his arm. He must like it because he has goose bumps.

" I have to go home." I whisper

" Already?"

" Yeah its midnight."

" I didn't realize it was that late. You should stay the night."

" Are you sure? It wont be weird or anything?"

" Yes I am sure. We have slept with each other before."

" That sounds dirty." I say laughing

" You know what I mean. We have slept with one another on the couch before." he says smiling

" Haha yes, I understand what your saying. This time we will be in your bed though."

" I don't think there is much difference. If you wont feel comfortable you don't have to stay. I just wanted to save you a trip from going home at midnight."

" It will be fine. I'm never uncomfortable with you. I feel like I can be myself around you. I actually want to stay. Thank you asking me."

" You are more than welcome. I want you to stay too."

" Where is your dog at?"

" Mark's house."

" I was wondering where he was."

" I took him over there this afternoon, so we could be completely alone."

" Did you tell Mark why you brought him over there."

" Hell no!"

" Okay, I was just making sure." I say laughing

" I thought about officially telling him. I know he seen us the other night on your couch. I always thought he had a crush on you."

" Really? I never thought about him like that. I look at him as my brother. We will always be close, I spent a lot of time with him. He has kept in touch with me over the years."

" I just always had this gut feeling that he did, but I could be wrong."

" He has never said anything to me about it."

" Okay changing the subject from Mark. Are you ready for the dance now?"

" I guess." I say smiling shyly

" That doesn't sound very convincing."

" I would be lying if I said I was 100 percent ready and I don't lie."

" We still have plenty of time to work on it. We have 4 days to practice."

" Yeah, I think I can do it. It will just take me some time." I say while yawning

" Are you tired?"

" Yeah a little bit. Its been a long day."

" I agree. Lets go to sleep then."

He leans over and cuts the lamp off. Its pitch dark in the bedroom.

" I will cut the tv on so we have a little bit of light."

" Wait."

I get up out of the bed and take my blue jeans off. The shirt he is letting me wear goes down to my knees. It covers me up completely which is a good thing. I crawl back in the bed and get under the covers.

" Okay, you can now."

" What did have to do?"

" I had to take my jeans off. I don't know about you but I cant sleep in jeans." I say smiling

" Okay then, I am taking my shirt off. I don't ever sleep with one on but I didn't want to make you uncomfortable. Forget that though, you done took you pants off. You must be pretty comfortable." he says laughing

" I'm full covered. The shirt goes to my knees like a dress. I am very

comfortable actually.

He gets up out of the bed and takes his shirt off. He throws it somewhere on the floor. He then walks over to his dresser and pulls out some pajama pants. He takes off his pants and slides the pajama bottoms on. When he gets done he climbs back in the bed. He turns over on his side so we are facing each other.

" What?" I ask him

" You."

" What about me?"

" I don't know. I could look at you all day."

" Touché" I say laughing

" Come here."

He turns over on his back. I move closer to him and lay my head on his chest. He wraps his arm around me and kisses my head. I wrap my arm around his stomach.

" Goodnight" I say

I give him a light kiss on his bare chest.

" Goodnight" He replies while kissing me on my head

I wake up the next morning and Derek is not in the bed with me. I look at the clock and its 9:30. I slept late and we have practice today. I get out of the bed and put my jeans back on. I walk over to a mirror and pull my hair back up that has fell. I go out of the bedroom and walk down stairs. I see Derek standing in the kitchen cooking. I walk up behind him and wrap my arms around him. I kiss his muscular back.

" Did you sleep well?" I ask him still holding onto him

" Amazingly. Did you?"

" Yes, very well. How long have you been up?"

" Not long maybe 20 minutes. I decided to come down here and cook breakfast. I tried very hard not to wake you when I got up."

" You didn't. I just woke up."

I let go of him and go and sit on one of the stools at the island. He grabs two plates out of the cabinet and two glasses. He puts the food on the plates and sits one down in front of me and the other beside me.

" Is orange juice okay?"

" Yes"

He pours two glasses of orange juice and comes and sits down beside me. On my plate I have two eggs, a piece of toast, and 3 pieces of bacon. I dig in and start eating. I didn't realize how hungry I was. I look up and Derek is laughing at me.

" What?" I ask

" You." he says

" Haha I was hungry. I'm sorry, I should be more lady like. I wouldn't want to scare you away."

" Your not going to scare me away. I am glad your not scared to eat in front of me. I have dated girls before that wouldn't eat in front of me at all."

" That is crazy. If I am hungry I'm going to eat I don't care who I'm in front of."

" That's why I like you so much." he says grinning

We sit and talk while we eat. We have both finished and I offer to do the dishes but he says he will do them later. I don't argue with him. I look at my phone and its 10:30. I need to go home unfortunately. We are sitting on the couch watching tv. I look over at Derek and he is reading the paper. I scoot closer to him and he puts the paper down.

" I have to go home. What time is practice?"

" Is 12:30 okay? Two hours? I have to get a shower and stuff."

" That's great. I have to go home and get one too."

I stand up off from the couch and Derek gets up too.

" I got to go get my shirt."

" Okay"

I walk up to his bedroom and change into the shirt I came here in. I walk back down stairs. I grab my keys and purse off the table and walk to the door. Derek is following behind me.

" I will walk you to your car."

" What if there are paparazzi outside? They will see us together."

" Ohh yeah, dang I forgot about them. They will see that your car was here all night."

" Shit. I didn't see any of them when I got here last night."

" Hold on. I will grab you a jacket and you can pull the hood up over your head."

" Okay"

I stand by the door till he gets back. I put on the jacket and it is huge on me, but maybe that will disguise me more.

" I had a great time last night." I say

" I did too. Which I always have a good time when I'm with you."

I reach up and wrap my arms around his neck. He wraps his arms around my waist and picks me up. He sets me back down and leans down to give me a kiss. I turn my head and his lips hit my cheek.

" Why did you turn your head?"

" I haven't brushed my teeth this morning. I don't think you want to kiss me on my mouth."

" I could care less if you have or not."

He leans back down and I don't turn away this time. Our lips meet and I grant him access in my mouth. I love kissing him so much. We break apart for air.

" I will see you later." I say turning around and opening the door

" Bye" he says

I walk to my car and get in. I thankfully have tinted windows. Derek has a fence all the way around his house. I find some sunglasses in my car and put them on. I pull my hood up around my face so nobody can see me. I pull out of his drive way and the paparazzi are taking pictures but I don't think they can see me unless they are in front of me.

_Hope you like it. Will try and post another chapter today. If I don't get it up today it will be up tomorrow. - Mallory _


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Its Saturday afternoon and I am sitting at home laying on the couch watching tv. This week has been great. I had my date with Derek Wednesday and we have hung out every night since then. I have had dinner with Shannon a couple more times and Derek came with us once. She decided to stay at her hotel but I have seen her a lot. We had practice Thursday afternoon and I learned all the dance. I did the dance with no problem. I still didn't show all my emotions but I think I did enough to make Derek happy. Then Friday we had the group dance and had practice later that night. Having two dances in one week is hard. Our group dance looks amazing. I'm really happy with it and the people on the team, we all get along great. Today Derek and I had practice again. We perform the group dance Monday and then our Rumba Tuesday night. We have no elimination this week. It's a huge relief, I feel like I can relax a little bit. Mark texted me Friday and told me that he was having a party Saturday night and asked if I wanted to come. He is inviting all of his close friends from the show. He told me he asked Derek, me, Sabrina, Melissa, Maks, Peta, Apolo, and Val. I thought about it and talked to Derek about it and we decided to go. I was kind of worried about if Derek and I could hide our relationship since we were going to be at the same place most of the night. Mark's house is huge so he is definitely going to go all out. He throws good parties. He told me to bring my bathing suit and a change of clothes. The party is tonight at 7:30. I guess I should start getting ready because its 5:00. I get up and take a shower. I put my make up on and curl my hair. I pick out some short and tight black shorts. I put on a pink tank top to match. I tuck it in and find some black flip flops to wear. I go through my dresser and find a bikini to wear. I put on some jewelry and curl my hair. By 6:45 I am ready to go and leave my apartment headed to Mark's house.

When I get to Mark's house there are a lot of cars there. I spot Derek's and park beside it. He is sitting in the car talking on the phone. I get out of the car and he does too. Who ever he was talking to he hangs up with them. I walk over to him beside his car.

" You look good." he says leaning down and giving me a kiss

" Thank you. You do too." I say blushing

He is wearing blue jeans and nice shirt with some flip flops.

" I see you brought your bathing suit." he says

" Yeah, a red bikini. He said to bring one."

" I cant wait to see you in that. I brought some trunks too."

" I want to see you in swimming trunks with no shirt on." I say blushing

" We should probably go inside." he says frowning and starts walking away

I grab his arm and turn him towards me.

" Wait" I say

I reach up and wrap my arms around him. I kiss him hard on the lips. Our tongues roaming around in each others mouths. I pull away and start walking away.

" You cant just do that and then leave."

I turn around

" We cant go in there holding hands."

" Your right."

He walks up to me. He puts his hand on my cheek and rubs his hand back and forth.

" I wish we didn't have to hide." he says

" Me either. Maybe we should just tell them."

" Let's wait. At least not tonight."

" Okay, but we are going to have to eventually."

" I know."

He leans down and gives me one more kiss. Then he walks into Mark's house. I wait a minute or two. They would definitely think something if we walked into together. When I go in I am greeted by Mark.

" Hey, glad you came." he says while hugging me

" Glad you invited me."

He picks me up a little bit and then swings me around. After a minute he sets me back down.

" Everybody is in the living room." he says

Sabina, Melissa, and Derek are sitting on the couch talking. Maks and Peta are standing up talking. Apolo and Val are sitting on the other couch talking.

" Everybody is here. Its time to get the party started."

" About time." Maks says

" Oh shut up." Mark replies back

" It took you long enough to get here." Maks says looking at me

" I'm a girl and it takes us a while to get ready." I say while walking over to him and hugging him

" Only would I wait for you to get here before I would start drinking." He says laughing

" Aw that is so thoughtful of you." I say smiling

I reach over and give Peta a hug.

" How do you deal with him?" I ask her laughing

" Its hard." she says smiling

" Hey, that was mean." Maks says smirking at me

I walk over to Sabrina and Melissa.

" Hey lady" Melissa says

" Hey" I reach up and give her a hug

" Good to see you, twinsie" Sabrina says

" Its good to see you too."

I give her a hug. I feel like a social butterfly

" Just don't even speak to us." Val says

" Yeah, we don't matter." Apolo says

" Shut up." I say while walking over to them.

I lean down and give Apolo a hug. Val stands up from the couch.

" Hey there shorty." he says

" Hey! That wasn't very nice." I say while playfully slapping his arm

" I'm just kidding."

He leans down and gives me a hug. He picks me up and swings me around. I don't know what it is with people wanting to pick me up every time they hug me. When he sets me back down I look over at Derek and he has this tense look on his face. Surely that didn't make him mad. Its just Val. I go back over to the couch and sit down beside Sabrina. On the couch its me, Sabrina, Melissa, and then Derek on the end. Mark walks back into the room.

" Are ya'll ready to start this party?" he asks

He has a tray and it has shots on it. He sits the tray on the table in the middle of the room. He passes them out to everybody. I take the last one from him and he sits down beside me. He raises the glass.

" Thank you to everybody for coming. We are going to have fun."

Everybody starts cheering and then takes the shot. I hesitate and then just throw it back as fast as I can. I'm not sure what it is but its burning my throat. I start coughing.

" Are you okay?" Mark asks

" Yeah, my throats just burning."

" You just got to get used to it." Sabrina says

" Lets take another one." Val shouts

Mark walks around and refills our glasses. I steal a look at Derek and he was already looking at me. He smiles and I smile back. Mark sits back down beside me.

" One, Two, Three" Maks says

We all drink the glass. Its not as bad as it was the first time. I wonder what it is.

" What is this?" I ask

" It Vodka." Melissa says

" Worst shit ever but when you get drunk enough you wont taste it." Val says

" Oh okay." I say smiling shyly

" Why don't we take this party outside?" Mark says

We all agree with him. He instructs us where the bathroom is and then he goes to his room to change. Derek and I end up walking the same direction. We walk to the same bathroom.

" You can go first." I tell him

" Okay, it wont take me long."

He was right not even a minute later and he is back out.

" I will wait on you."

" Okay"

I go into the bathroom and change. It takes me longer than Derek. I'm glad I decided on this bathing suit. It red with sequins all over. It fits me perfectly up top and it's a little snug on my butt. My butt is hanging out just a little bit on the sides. I cant help it though, I just got a big butt. I walk out of the bathroom and Derek is standing there. His mouth drops open.

" You look incredible. I think this is the only time I have seen you in a bikini."

" Thank you."

I reach up and give him a kiss. He snakes his arms around my waist and deepens the kiss. I walk us back into the bathroom. He kicks it shut with his foot. We never break apart. He lifts me up on the counter and I wrap my legs around his hips. Derek pulls away.

" I'm going to get carried away."

" I know, me too." I say

He steps back and I jump off the counter. I like my thumb and reach up and rub the side of his cheek.

" My lip stick rubbed off on you." I say

" That wouldn't have been good if I walked out there with it on my cheek."

" No I wouldn't have been."

He leans down and kisses me again and we walk out of the bathroom. We go outside with everybody else. They are all in Marks big hot tub.

" The drinks are on that table." Marks says while pointing to a table beside us

Derek walks over and grabs two cups.

" Here you go." he says while handing me one

" Thank you. What is it?" I ask

" I'm not sure. Probably one of Mark's concoctions'."

" Okay."

I take a drink of it.

" Its not that bad."

" Nah, he knows his alcohol."

We walk over to the hot tub. The hot tub is huge thank goodness because everybody is in it. Derek gets in first. He stands there and holds my hand while I step in. There is no where else to go so we sit down beside each other.

" Thank you" I whisper to him

" Your welcome"

" Damn, Shawn Johnson looking hot." Val says

" Thank you."

I blush the color of my bathing suit.

" Yeah, Shawney coming out of her shell." Mark says

" Hell guys its just a bikini." I say laughing

" I wish I had your body." Sabrina replies

" I wish I had your boobs." I say giggling

" You can have them." she says smiling

We sit around a drink and talk in the hot tub. With Maks, Val and Mark all their the conversations get perverted. The jets are on so the water is pretty high. I actually think its over lapping. I put my hand underwater and set it on Dereks thigh. He grabs it and starts running his thumb over my hand. I wish everybody just knew. It would be so much easier. Its midnight before we ever go back inside to the house. Derek and I go to the same bathroom again.

" I'll let you go first. You look cold." he says

" Thank you, I am."

I walk into the bathroom and change back into my previous clothes. My hair luckily didn't get wet and is still curly. I walk out of the bathroom.

" I'm done." I say to Derek

He walk in the bathroom and gets dressed. I wait on him till he comes out. We walk into the living room together. I go and sit down on the couch. Derek sits down beside me. Mark has leather couches and I don't know why, but I am cold. I'm shaking I am so cold. I would grab a blanket but I don't see any. I guess Derek notices I'm shaking. He doest hesitate and pulls me to him. He wraps his arm around my shoulder and I bring my legs up and throw them over his thighs. He lays his other hand on my legs. I put my head on his chest.

" Are you comfortable?" Maks asks

I lift my head off Derek's chest to look at Maks.

" Actually I am. I'm about to get frost bite too. I'm freezing."

" It is cold in here." Sabrina says

" I'll go get some blankets or something." Mark says

Mark brings me a comforter. I throw it over Derek and myself but I don't move.

" Um, Shawn its getting a little noticeable." Derek whispers in my ear.

" Fine." I say

I get up from the couch and walk over to the other couch. Its facing the couch that I was just sitting on. I sit in between Val and Mark. I think I shocked Derek when I got up and moved. Hell I think I shocked everybody because they are staring at me.

" What" I yell

No one responds they just look away.

" Are you okay?" Mark asks

" Yes" I snap

" Okay, don't get feisty with me. I was just asking. You look mad."

" I'm fine. I'm just cold." I say while snuggling up in my cover

I look over at Derek and he looks at me. I look away and shake my head. I'm pretty mad right now. I hate having to hide our relationship. Its so hard and if I'm cold and want to cuddle on the couch with my boyfriend, I cant. It sucks. I lean my head over on Val's shoulder.

" Are you alright?" he asks

" Yeah I'm fine. Just cold."

" I have rooms upstairs if you want to stay the night. I wouldn't want anyone getting hurt from drinking and driving." Mark says

I look down at my phone and I have a message from Derek.

" _Shawn, will you meet me outside so we can talk." _

I glance over at the couch and Derek is not sitting there. I didn't even notice him get up. I text him back.

" _Yeah, I'll be out there in a minute." _

I get up from the couch and walk outside. Derek is sitting in one of the rocking chairs on the patio. I sit down beside him.

" Are you okay?" he asks me

" Yeah, just peachy."

" Your not fine. Your pissed off."

" I am just a little bit."

" Why?"

" Because I have a damn boyfriend and when I'm cold and want to cuddle up next to him I cant. I get told that I'm being noticeable. Well who gives a shit."

" Wow, your really mad."

" Yes I am."

" I thought we had talked about this. We have wanted to keep it a secret because they would pick on us and tease us."

" I did agree at first and I'm not saying I want the whole world to know. I just want to be able to show affection towards you when we are hanging out with our friends."

" You don't know how bad I've wanted to kiss you all night."

" Me too, sometimes I just feel like your ashamed of me. That's why you wont tell our friends out us."

" Shawn, you've got to be kidding me. Ashamed of you? There is no way in hell. I wish I could scream it from the rooftops that I am dating the most gorgeous, athletic, sexy, and funniest person in the world."

" I cant help it. That's just the way I feel sometimes."

" Well try and not to feel like that. If you want to tell everybody we will. Not tonight thought. Only because its 1:00 in the morning and half of everybody in there is drunk."

" Okay, thank you for being understanding. I am sorry I blew up on you and I probably made it worse by getting up and moving. I was just so mad. I try to hold back on my temper as much as I can."

" It's okay. Are we okay now?"

" Yes"

I get up from my chair. I move over and sit in Derek's lap. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him on the cheek.

" Are you staying the night?" I ask him

" No probably not. I only has two shots and a glass to drink. I am not drunk."

" I don't think I want to stay either. Do you want to come back to my apartment?"

" Sure" he says smiling

" Good, are you ready to leave? I am sleep."

" Yeah"

I kiss him one more time on the lips and the stand up. We walk back inside and everybody is taking shots again. Derek walks around and tells everybody bye. I wait about 5 minutes and start saying goodbye.

" Are you leaving?" Sabina asks

" Yeah, where did Melissa go?" " She left. Apolo left too. Bristol couldn't make it tonight."

" I was wondering where she was."

I hug her and then walk over to Maks, Val and Mark.

" I'm fixing to leave."

" Already?" Marks asks

" Yeah, I am tired."

I give them all a hug and then say goodbye to Peta. Derek is already in his car when I get outside. We both pull out and head to my apartment. We finally get there and its 1:30. I haven't got home this late in a while. I head straight to my bedroom leaving Derek in the living room. I change in to my pajama's then walk back into the living room.

" I have that shirt from the other night. If you want to wear it. I don't have any other clothes for you to change into."

" Its okay. I don't sleep in a shirt anyways."

" Right" I say blushing

" Lets go to bed." he says

We walk hand in hand into my bedroom. I have already moved the covers back. We both climb into bed and lay down.

" I had a good day today beside our little disagreement earlier." I say

" I did too. We resolved that's all that matters."

" Your right."

I lean over and kiss him on this lips. I lay my head on his chest and we wrap around each other.

" I'm glad I can cuddle you again." Derek says

" Me too."

" Goodnight" he says

" Night."

And I drift off to sleep in no time.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Its Monday night, the night of our group dance. We had one more practice yesterday and it went great. I don't think anybody messed up or forgot any of the moves. I cant wait to perform it in front of the judges. We are the last ones to dance and its finally our time to go out. I'm really nervous about the whole thing because of the lifts and tricks. We wouldn't want anyone to get hurt. I'm also excited about it though, everybody can finally see it. Derek and I are standing beside each other while they are showing the rehearsal footage.

" Are you nervous?" Derek asks

" Very" I reply

" Me too."

I reach up and give him a hug. He squeezes me once more time and then lets go.

" You will do great. I trust and believe in you." I tell him

" I believe in you also. I have 100 percent faith in you. Lets kick ass."

He leans down and plants a swift kiss on my cheek. We then walk to our starting positions to do the dance.

Everybody did amazing. We didn't have any mistakes and nobody forgot the moves. We are waiting for our scores with Brooke. Carrie Ann gives us a 9.5, Len and Bruno gives us a 10. I'm overall very happy with the wonderful people I got to dance with and our dance. I couldn't have picked a better team. Derek walks me to my trailer so I can change clothes. We don't have to go through press tonight, we will do all that tomorrow. We have our Rumba tomorrow. We will dance second, right after Melissa and Tony. I'm already getting nervous about it.

" When I get done changing I am going to find Shannon and tell her goodbye."

" Okay, I think Mark and I are going to have dinner later."

" Alright, so I will see you tomorrow?"

" Yes."

I am standing on the bottom step of my trailer. Derek is standing flat on the ground. We are finally at the same level, face to face. I put my arms around his neck and he wraps his arms around my waist. He pulls me closer to him and there is no open space between us. I life my head off his shoulder but still have my hands around his neck. He reaches up a little bit and our lips meet. I pull him closer to me and deepen the kiss. He pulls away and kisses my fore head, nose, both cheeks, and then my lips again. When I pull away from the kiss he pulls me back to him. We just stand there hugging each other for what feels like eternity.

" Derek your going to be late for dinner." I say laughing

" Sorry, I could just stand here and hug you all night."

" Yes, and then you would miss dinner with Mark. He probably wouldn't be too happy about that."

" So you would rather me leave then stand here and hug me?" he says smirking at me

" No, I love hugging you. I could stand here with you all night. I love it when you hug me."

" I love hugging you too. At first when we starting dating I thought it might be awkward hugging you. I mean with our height difference, I didn't know if it would be hard to hold hands with you. I wasn't sure if I was going to have to bend down all the time."

" I thought about that too. If I was going to have to reach up all the time just to be able to kiss you. And then if you wanted to hold hands would I have to reach up and you lean down."

" I'm glad you thought about it too. We must be perfect for each other because we always find a solution."

" Yeah, I could wear taller heels."

" That wouldn't be necessary. You wouldn't me my little munchkin anymore. I wouldn't want you to look any other way."

" Your so sweet."

I give him a kiss on the lips.

" I guess I will go. I will see you tomorrow." he says while turning around to walk off.

" Bye, I will see you tomorrow."

I blow him a kiss and then go in my trailer to change clothes. When I get done changing I walk back into the studio to find Shannon. I told her I might be a little late, but to not leave until I saw her. I see her still sitting in the seat she was sitting in earlier. I walk up to her and she stands up when she sees me.

" You did so good tonight!" she says while leaning down and giving me hug

" Thank you, I'm so glad you go to come."

" Me too, its definitely different then back in Alabama."

" I'm going to miss you."

" Aw, I'm going to miss you too. I have had such a good time here."

" I'm glad you go to come."

" Me too, I don't want to leave, but I have stuff to do back in Alabama."

" You will have to come back. I'm sure I could get you a pair of tickets for free."

" That would be awesome. I would love to watch ya'll dance again."

" Just let me know and I will see what I can do."

" Okay, well I guess I'm going to head home. I have a early flight tomorrow. I wish I could stay and watch your Rumba."

" Me too."

I give her one last hug and we bid our farewells. I walk out to my car and leave the studio. I'm going to have a busy and nervous day tomorrow.

I wake up the next morning and take a shower. I then head to the studio to get started on hair and make up. I have to try on my dress one last time to make sure everything still fits right. I pull up in the parking lot and there aren't many cars here. I walk into my trailer to drop off all my stuff. I then go inside the studio for hair. Sabrina is getting her hair done and I sit down beside her.

" Hey girl." I say to her

" Hey, you ready for tonight?"

" At the beginning of the week I was dreading the dance but Derek has brought it out of me. I don't know how he did it. I haven't ever been this vulnerable with anybody before. I mean even with Ryan I didn't always show my full emotions. I'm nervous though."

" I guess Derek just has magical powers."

" I don't know what it is, it must be magic. Are you nervous about tonight?"

" Kind of, I mean to me its like any other week. I'm just glad we don't have a elimination."

" Me too."

Sabrina and I sit together and talk for hours. We have our hair and make up done. We say goodbye and I walk back to my trailer. I wonder where Derek is. I decide not to call him. He will show up eventually. I mean its only 3:00 and the show don't start till 7:00. It doesn't take him as long to get ready as it does me. I walk into my trailer to try my dress on. I walk in to the bathroom and put it on. I absolutely love this dress. Its my favorite one so far. I just feel like a princess in it. I grab a robe and wrap it around me. Somebody has put fruit in my trailer, so I fix me a bowl of grapes and grab a water. I go and sit on the couch and watch tv to pass time. While I'm watching tv I hear a knock on the door.

" Shawn, its me."

I can tell automatically who it is. Its Derek.

" Come in." I respond

Derek walks in and he is already dressed for our dance. He has his hair fixed and everything. He walks over and kisses me on the lips and then sits down beside me.

" I really like your hair like that."

" Its definitely different."

" You look just like Leonardo DiCaprio."

" I haven't heard that one before."

" Ya'll could be twins." I say laughing

" Your funny, but I'm definitely better looking." he says smirking at me

" Most definitely." I say laughing

" Can I have a grape?" he asks

" Well of course, you don't have to ask."

He reaches over in my bowl and grabs a handful of grapes.

" Lets play a game." I say

" What kind of game."

" I will throw the grape up and try to catch it. You do the same with your grapes."

" Okay, lets make this a little bit more competitive."

" Um, okay, we will see who can catch the most."

" And if I win."

" You wont." I say smirking at him

" Well we will just have to see about that."

" Lets start. I go first."

I pick up a grape and throw it up. I catch it with ease. I have had plenty of practice doing this. Its Derek's turn. He misses it and its my turn again. We play until we have ate all the grapes that was in my bowl.

" I won." Derek says

" Shut up, you probably cheated somehow."

" You were sitting right there, I didn't cheat." he says laughing

" Your right. I'm just a sore loser."

" So what do I win?"

" Anything you want." I say blushing

" Well right now, I want to kiss you."

" If that's what you want."

He leans over and kisses me. I wrap my arms around his neck and lay back on the couch. I'm laying on my back and pull him down on top of me. His tongue is skimming my bottom lip asking for entrance. I open my mouth and our tongues roam in each others mouth. I have never liked kissing anybody more. I still have my arms wrapped around his neck and his hands are running up and down my body. Where I had my robe tied around me falls open. Derek looks down at my body.

" You look great in this dress."

" Thank you, I really love it."

He leans back down and kisses my forehead, both cheeks, and then my lips once more. He then sits back up and I'm still laying on the couch with my robe open and my dress showing. I sit up from the couch and lay my head down in Derek's lap. He is sitting with both feet on the ground and his knees together. I lay my head on his thighs and look up at him. He puts his hand in my hair and starts playing with my hair.

" How are you feeling about the dance?"

" Better then I was at the beginning of the week."

" Good, are you ready to do it."

" Yeah, I finally feel like I can do it and I want to do it."

" Do you want to head over there."

" Yeah."

I get up from his lap and take off my robe.

" Lets go." I say smiling at him

" How did I get so lucky?" he asks

" No, how did I get so lucky is the question."

I reach up and give him a kiss.

" I'm so thankful we got partnered together." he says

" Me too."

With that we leave my trailer and head into the studio. I have to go back and get my hair re-curled and my make up touched up again. Since we dance second time flies by and its our time to dance. We walk down the steps hand in hand. We then go to the black stage in the middle of the floor. Derek lifts me up and puts me on the black stage. He then climbs up himself. He walks over to me and grabs my hand. The room is dark except for one light. They are showing our rehearsal footage.

" Are you ready for this?" he asks me

" Yes." I say

He leans down and wraps me in a hug.

" I believe in you. You are going to do great."

" I hope so."

He kisses my cheek and then lets me go. I walk over to my spot on the stage. When I hear the music start I walk towards him and tune out everybody but him. I dance like its just me and him. I know I can be myself around him and not be scared, so I don't hold anything back. I dance like we will never dance together again. When we have finished the dance and he disappears in the fog I walk over to the edge to wait for him. He walks over to me and pulls me into a hug. I feel a tear slip down my cheek.

" You did amazing." he whispers in my ear

" Thank you for everything." I whisper back

He sets me back down and we hear the comments from the judges. We then walk up to Brooke to get our scores. Carrie Ann gives us a 9, Len gives us a 8, and Bruno gives us 10. I cant say I'm happy with a 8, but I don't think I could have danced any better. Derek grabs my hand and leads me into the make up room. There is no one in the room. He walks over to one of the chairs and sits down. I walk behind him and go to sit in the chair beside him and he grabs my arm gently and pulls me towards him. I realize that he wants me to sit in his lap. I sit down on his legs. I wrap my arms around his neck and lay my head in the crook of his neck. He puts his arms around my waist.

" I cant even begin to explain how happy I am. You couldn't have dance any better than you did tonight. I was not expecting you to show that much emotion."

" I honestly wasn't either. I just tuned everybody out but me and you. I just set my mind to think that this was our last dance and I wouldn't ever see you again. I didn't have to fake any emotion that was all real."

When he hears that he pulls me closer to him.

" Shawn I have to tell you something."

" Okay, what is it?"

" I have been thinking a lot about us and our relationship."

I don't respond and he continues.

" I really have enjoyed spending time with you. I couldn't have asked to be paired with a better partner. What I'm trying to say is Shawn… I…l..o…v..e. you." he finally gets out.

I don't respond right away. I lift my head from his neck and look up at him. He looks scared to death.

" Please say something." he begs

" I…I love you too." I stutter out

" Really?" he asks

" Yes really. I know we haven't been dating long but I just feel this connection with you that I have never felt with anybody else. I am so happy with you."

" I feel the exact same way."

I throw my lips at him and kiss him. Hard. My hands are around his neck and his hands are in my hair. I haven't been this happy in a long time.

" I love you." I say to him

" I love you too. I wont ever get tired of hearing you say that. I was scared to death of what you would say."

" I didn't even have to think twice. I was just shocked at first. I thought you were going to break up with me."

" No, I would never. I love you." he says smiling

" I love you too."

And we sit there together until we have to leave.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Its Wednesday morning and I have practice today. I'm sitting in the practice room waiting on Derek to get here. Last night after the show we had practice for the group dance. Sabrina and I were playing around and I rolled over her back. I fell when I rolled over and landed on my knee that I had surgery on. Its hurting pretty bad this morning. Derek seen me fall but I haven't told him how bad its hurting. Maybe he wont notice. I'm stretching when I see him walking in.

" Hey babe." he says

" Hey"

He walks over to me and gives me a kiss on the lips. Then he goes over to the steps and puts his bags down.

" Are you ready to get started?" he asks

" Yeah"

" I have the whole dance choreographed and the judges want the contestants to have a solo part."

" Okay"

" Are you okay?"

" Yeah I'm fine."

" You just seem a little off."

" What do you mean?"

" I don't know. You are just being short."

" I'm just not feeling to good this morning."

" Okay, let me know if we need to take a break."

" Alright."

Derek explains some of the dance and goes over the steps with me. Its hurts my knee pretty bad when I move it certain ways. I'm almost to the point of tears its hurting so bad. Derek is getting frustrated with me because I'm not learning the steps as fast as I usually do.

" Are you sure your okay? You seem a little off today."

" Well you seen me fall yesterday at rehearsals. I landed on my knee and its hurting pretty bad."

" Do you want to ice it?"

" No, I will be fine."

He reluctantly agrees with me and we continue to practice. We do a couple more moves and I wince every time. My knee hasn't hurt this bad in a long time.

" If you cant do these moves then we need to take a break. I can tell your in pain. Your knee looks huge. Lets go ice it."

He takes my hand and leads me into the back room. I lay down on the couch and prop my leg up on a pillow. Derek goes somewhere to get some ice. I cant hold back the tears anymore and I start crying. Derek comes back and sets the ice down on my leg. He then lays down on the couch with me. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and I lay my head on his arm and cry silently.

" I think I messed it up again." I say while wiping my tears

" That sucks and its was just you having fun and being silly."

" Yeah, that's one of the worst things. I was acting stupid when I did it. I should have just been standing there like everybody else." " You cant blame yourself. With all the tricks and lifts we do you might have hurt it then."

" But it is my fault. I shouldn't have been playing around." I say weeping

" Shawn look at me."

I look up at him and he bring his hands to my face. He wipes the tears that are rolling down my cheeks. Then he kisses my forehead, cheeks, nose and then my lips.

" We will get through this. I can change the choreography to make it easier on your knee."

" Okay."

I kiss him on the lips and then lay my head down on his arm.

" Thank you for being here for me."

" I wouldn't be anywhere else. I love you."

" I love you too."

We lay on the couch for a couple hours. When the swelling goes back down we get up and practice the dance. My knee is numb so its not hurting right now. We have learned some of the dance, he has changed most of the dance. Its pretty late and we decide to call it day.

" Well I'm going to go home." I say

" Make sure you ice you knee."

" I will."

I reach up and give him a kiss.

" I'm glad you talked me today." he says

" I am happy your hear to listen to me. I have been taught my whole life to suck it up. That if its still attached your okay. So its different to talk about it with someone and explain my feelings."

" Just remember that this is dancing with the stars not gymnastics. I'm your boyfriend and I want to know why your upset when you are. I love you."

" I love you too."

I give him one more kiss and the leave.

Its Friday morning and I'm on my way to practice. My knee has gotten much better since Wednesday. Its still hurts every once and a while. I just ice it as much as I can. That helps it a lot. I walk into the room and Derek is sitting on the steps. I put my stuff down and walk over to him.

" Hey baby" I say

I lean over and give him a kiss on the cheek.

" Hey babe. Is your knee better?"

" Yeah, its not hurting right now."

" Okay, well lets get started."

I have learned the whole dance. We have today, tomorrow, and Sunday to practice it, and the group dance. We are in hold and in the middle of a move when Derek stops. He grabs his neck and winces. He is major pain.

" Are you okay?" I ask him

" Yeah, my neck has just been hurting the past few days."

" Lets take a break and you can talk to me about it."

" Okay"

We walk over to the steps and sit down.

" When did it start hurting?"

" Well it has always hurt me on and off. It has just been really bad this week. I think I am going to get a doctor to look at it after the show Monday."

" Why not before then?"

" Because if the doctor says I cant dance with you then who will? It's a little late in the week to get someone else to do it. I will just wait till then and go from there."

" I hate to see you in pain. I know how you feel."

" I will be fine, I've had to deal with it for a while."

" I'll go get you some ice." I say

" There is no need for it, I will be fine."

" Derek, I'm not going to argue with you about it. You need to ice your neck. It will help it and make you feel better."

" Fine." he says

I walk into the kitchen and get some ice. I find a bag to put it in. I walk back into the room and Derek is not sitting on the steps. I look over towards the mirror and he is standing in front of it dancing.

" Derek, what are you doing?" I ask

" Just doing some of the dance."

" Why? You need to be sitting down and icing your neck. I hate to sound like the nagging girlfriend, but please just sit down and ice your neck."

" I don't think your nagging. Its cute because it just shows you care about me."

" Your right I do care about you. I don't want you to hurt yourself worse by dancing with me."

" I've had to deal with it for a while. I guess I'm just use to pushing through it."

I take his hand and lead him over to the steps. I sit down and put my legs straight out in front of me. I pat my thighs.

" You want me to lay down in your lap?" he asks

" Yes, your head on my thighs."

He lays down and puts his head on my thighs. I take the ice and set it on his neck. I run my fingers through his long hair. We have been sitting like this for 15 minutes or so and Derek has fallen asleep. I grab my phone sitting beside me and just play on it till he wakes up. He wakes up 2 hours later. He looks up at me, smiling. I lean down and kiss him on the lips.

" How long was I asleep?" he asks

" Uh, maybe 2 hours."

" Dang, I didn't mean to fall asleep."

" Its okay, I could tell you were tired. I was just going to let you sleep as long as you wanted too."

" Do you have plans tonight?"

" No"

" We should go out somewhere."

" Where?"

" I don't know. We could go to a club?"

" Okay, just the two of us?"

" Yes, is that okay?"

" Yeah, I just mean it would look like we were dating."

" I thought you wanted people to know."

" I meant our friends, not everybody."

" We could invite a couple of people to go with us."

" I would rather just us to go alone."

" Okay then, lets just stay in and watch movies."

" You want to go out. Lets just go out. Screw what everybody else thinks."

" I always have. I don't think anybody would actually ask us if we are dating."

" Yeah, surely not. What time?"

" Um, 11:00?"

" Sounds good to me."

" Good, I'm excited. This is like the first time we have been out on a date. We had the one at my house, but this is public."

" Yeah, I am too."

Its finally time for me to start getting ready. I have no idea what I'm going to wear. Since Derek and I are dating I want to wear something really sexy. I walk into my closet and search through all my clothes. I finally find something I like. It's red and has a black belt to match. It is also strapless and I find some black heels to match the belt. It is pretty short, but I cant wear a dress that goes down to my ankles to a club. It doesn't end at my butt, but it don't go all the way down to my knees. I take a shower and change into my dress. I curl my hair and put on some make up. I add a pair of earrings and a bracelet. I spray some of my perfume on that Derek likes. By 10:45 I'm ready and I know Derek will be here soon. I grab me a bottle of water out of the fridge and then sit down on the couch. At 10:50 I hear a knock on the door.

" Who is it?" I ask

" Derek."

I open the door and let him in. I then walk into the kitchen to put up my water bottle and Derek is still standing in the same place. He is staring a whole through me.

" What? Is it too much? Should I go change?"

" No, you look hot! You most definitely shouldn't change. I going to have trouble keeping all the guys off of you."

" Oh whatever."

I walk closer towards him and wrap my arms around his neck. We are just staring at each other.

" Your taller. I don't see straight over you."

" Yeah, I'm wearing taller heels."

" I cant get over how sexy you look. Miss Johnson is coming out of her shell."

" Thank you, and I'm trying."

Derek leans down and kisses me on the lips. He has his hands wrapped around my waist. My hands are around his neck.

" If I don't stop kissing you we will never leave."

" I know, but I like it."

I kiss him one more time and then walk over to the table to get my phone.

" You ready?" I ask

" One more kiss." he says smirking

He pulls me over to him and he kisses me.

The ride to the club is very short. Its in Hollywood and its called Boulevard3. I have only been here one other time. Derek pulls in a parking place pretty close to the door. He gets out and walks over to my side and opens the door for me. He lends me hand and I take it. When I stand up I pull my dress down a little bit. Before he shuts the door I turn my phone off and put it under the seat. So far there are no paparazzi outside. If they don't show up then there wont be any pictures of us together. We walk up to the door and there is a guy checking licenses. You have got to be 18 to get in.

" Mr. Hough." the man says

" Chad." Derek replies

" You may go on through." Chad says

We walk on through the doors. The club is packed, there are people everywhere. We walk up some steps to a secluded place in the corner.

" I had us a V.I.P. place reserved." Derek says

" Its nice."

We have a couch and then a table in front of us. Derek and I take a seat on the couch. A women walks up to us.

" Would ya'll like anything to drink?" she asks

" No, not right now." Derek says

The women leaves and Derek and I are left alone except for the people around us.

" Did you want anything to drink?" he asks me

" No, I'm good."

" Okay, I don't think I'm going to drink tonight."

" Me either."

" Do you want to go dance?" I ask him

" Yes."

We walk down the steps and on to the dance floor. Derek leads me into the middle. I guess he really did mean it when he said he didn't care what anybody thought. The d.j. is playing a pretty fast song. Derek and just start dancing. I haven't ever really danced at a club before but I just do what everybody else is doing. The d.j. changes it to a slow song and Derek doesn't waist a minute. He reaches for my hand and I give it to him. He takes it and wraps it around his neck. I put my other one up there beside it. He wraps his arms around my waist. We are swaying back and forth and Derek starts singing the song to me. When the song is over we move apart and start dancing like we were before. There is a guy beside us that is dancing with some girl. He turns around and bumps into me. I would have fell if Derek wouldn't have grabbed my arm. When I get steady I look up at Derek and he looks pissed.

" You just bumped into my girlfriend and almost knocked her down!" Derek yells

" Dude chill, she is alright. No big deal."

" Don't call me dude, and don't tell me to chill."

I see Derek's fist clench up. I grab his hand and turn him towards me. I then place my hands on his chest.

" Please don't do anything you would regret. Remember who you are and your job." I say calmly

" Oh I most definitely would not regret hitting this jackass in the face."

" Lets just go. We can go back up stairs." I say

" Fine."

As we are walking up the steps I intertwine my fingers with Derek's. He looks over and smiles at me. We walk to the couch and sit down.

" Are you okay?" he asks me

" Yes, I'm fine. I would have fell if you wouldn't have caught me."

" That dick. I should have just hit him."

" Just stay calm, I'm fine. You did the right thing."

I lean over and kiss him on the cheek. The waiter comes up and has a drink sitting on a tray.

" There is a young man over there that sent this to you ma'am."

She turns around a points at him. Derek looks to were she points and gives the guy a death glare.

" You can take it back and tell him thank you, but I'm in a relationship." I say to her

" Okay" she says

The waiter walks over to the guy and hands the drink back to him. He waves shyly at me and I just ignore it.

" I told you I would have trouble keeping the guys away from you." Derek says

" They can try all they want, but I'm happily taken."

I lean over and kiss him on the lips.

" Are you hungry?" he asks me

" Starving"

Derek calls over the waiter. We order our food and she leaves to go get it. She comes back in no time. While we are eating we talk about anything and everything. She comes back and gets our empty plates. We are sitting on the couch, Derek has his arm around my shoulder. My hand is laying on his thigh.

" I noticed when we were coming in you called the guy Chad. How did you know his name?" I ask

" I come here a lot. Mark and I usually come every weekend."

" Oh."

" Yeah, it's a pretty nice club."

" That it is."

" Are you ready to go?" he asks

" If you are."

The waiter comes back with the check and Derek pays for the meal. He leaves a tip and then stands up. He holds out his hand and I take it. We intertwine our fingers and walk down the stairs. We get to the car and Derek opens the door for me. I get in and he gets in the drivers seat. It doesn't take us long to get to my apartment. We pull in the parking deck.

" I will walk you in." he says

" Okay."

He walks me all the way to my door. I walk up to him and wrap my arms around his neck.

" I had a really good time tonight. Thank you." I say

" Your welcome. I had a great time too."

I kiss him on the lips. When I go to pull away he places his hand on my back and pulls me closer to him. We walk backwards until my back is against the door. We are passionately kissing each other. I finally pull away.

" Derek we are in the hall way." I say laughing

" I know, I just cant help myself."

I run my fingers through his hair and give him a peck on the lips. He then backs away.

" I will see you tomorrow at practice. I love you." he says

" Okay, I love you too."

I watch him walk all the way until he gets on the elevator. Before he steps in he turns around and winks at me. I blush crimson and then walk into my apartment.

_I hope you all are still enjoying the story. I'm having so much fun writing it. Please review and let me know how you are liking it. If there is anything specific you want to happen private message me and tell me. - Mallory _


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Its Monday afternoon and I'm in my trailer eating lunch. We had practice Saturday and yesterday. Derek's neck is not getting any better, I think its getting worse. He is going to the doctor after the show tonight. He hasn't really said what would happen if the doctor tells him he cant dance. I hope that doesn't happen. I don't think I could have another partner besides him. It would be awful. The only way I would be happy if it was Mark. I have danced with him before so I would be use to it. My knee has been hurting on and off but I'm just going to keep ice on it. I'm actually icing it right now. I'm ready for tonight's show to be over with, so Derek will know what's wrong with him. Its not good for him to keep on dancing while in pain. I just want him to be okay, and not hurt anymore. I get done eating and take the ice off my knee. I lay down on the couch and put a movie in. I fall to sleep.

I wake up to someone bagging on my door. I open it up and its Derek. He walks in and I walk back to the couch and lay down.

" What were you doing?" he asks

" I fell asleep. You bagging on the door woke me up."

" I've called you like 50 times and have been knocking forever. I was worried. People said that they hadn't seen you."

" I have my phone on silent. I'm a deep sleeper, it's weird I even heard you knocking."

" I was just worried about you, sorry for waking you up."

" Its okay, I probably should've been getting up anyways."

I pat the couch and motion my hand for Derek to come here. He lays down beside me. I lay my head on his chest and he wraps his arms around my shoulder.

" Is your neck feeling better?"

" Right now it is. I have been icing it. What about your knee?"

" Its alright. I was icing it before I fell asleep."

We lay together and talk till its time to get up. I have to get my clothes on and hair and make up done. Derek still has to get dressed too. I get up from the couch and walk into the bathroom to change. When I get done I wrap a robe around me and walk out. Derek is still laying on the couch. I walk up behind the end of the couch. I lean over his face and kiss him on the lips.

" Mhmm that's a nice surprise." he says

" Are you ready to go?"

" Yeah."

He gets up and we walk into the studio building. I go into the hair and make up room and he goes to get dressed. It takes about 30 minutes to get my hair done. Its time to get started with the show. Derek finds me and we get in our spots to walk down the stairs. Every time he moves his neck I see him wince. I feel so bad for him, he is in so much pain. We dance 5th tonight, maybe he will keep ice on it until then. We walk down the stairs and then go back up the sky box.

" Are you going to ice your neck?" I ask him

" I haven't really thought about it. Do you think I should?"

" I don't think it would hurt."

" Okay."

I sit in the sky box while Derek goes into a different room to ice his neck. Its finally our turn to dance. I'm sitting on his lap on the lawn mower.

" Are you okay?" I ask

" Yes, how couldn't I be with you sitting on my lap?"

" Shut up." I say laughing

We do the dance and I forget some of my solo. Other than that the dance went decent. We have definitely had better nights. We get a 9.5 from Carrie Ann, a 8.5 from Len, and a 10 from Bruno. The scores were all over the place. I'm not really sure why Len gave us a 8.5. I thought we danced a whole lot better than that. Derek promised him that if we make it through he was going to choreograph the dance just the way he would want it. I just hope Derek gets to dance with me next week. We have the group dance and then the show will be over. We don't get the bonus points in the group dance. At this point I don't really care about 2 bonus points. I'm anxious for Derek to go to the doctor. We walk back to my trailer together to say goodbye.

" I will call you when I get out of the doctor's office."

" Okay, if your home when I get done with press do you care if I come over?"

" No, I don't care. I would love for you to come."

I reach up and kiss him.

" I love you and good luck with the doctor."

" I love you too. I will see you later."

After he leaves I go to do press. I'm finally done with press and they all asked me where Derek was. I just told them he was at the doctor and he would talk more about it on tomorrows show. The whole time I did press I had my phone in my hand. I'm just waiting for Derek to call or text. While I'm walking back to my trailer to get my bags I get a text from Derek.

" _I just got out of the office. I'm heading home if you want to meet me there and I will explain everything to you. Mark is with me." _

I text him back. " _Okay, I will be there in a minute." _I press send and walk into the bathroom to change clothes. I change into some fresh clothes and head to my car. It takes me about 20 minutes to get to Derek's house. I knock on the door. I stand there for a few minutes before Derek opens the door.

" Hey babe." he says

" Hey"

I reach up and give him a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. I walk into the living room and Mark is sitting on the couch. He stands up when he sees me and walks over to me.

" Shawnyyy" he says

He bends down and hugs me and then spins me around. When he sets me down he leans down and kisses me on the cheek. I hear Derek making a scowl noise behind me and I cant help but giggle a little bit. Derek walks over to the couch and sits down. I follow him over there. We sit down and Mark sits on the other couch beside us.

" So, what did the doctor say?" I ask

" Well, he said that my bone is rubbing up against something in my neck. I will have to get surgery sometime and have that bone shaved down. He said that I'm not released to dance and I will have to sit out most of the week. He also said that if I'm feeling better by Monday I could dance, but he doesn't want me moving me neck at all for a few days."

I just look at him trying to get my head wrapped around what he said. It takes me a few minutes before I respond.

" Who am I going to practice with?" I ask

" Well that's why Mark is here. You will dance with him until I can get better."

" Are you serious."

" Dead."

" Well thanks Shawn, that makes me feel great." Mark says

" I don't mean it in a bad way. I just mean it will be different for me to go back dancing with you."

" Why do you say that? We have danced together before and won." he says

" I have just got used to dancing with Derek and now I'm going back to you. It will just be weird."

" Nah, it will be fun. Like old times." Mark says

Derek is just staring at the tv while we are talking.

" Are you going to dress out for the show tomorrow?" I ask Derek

" Yes, we wont be dancing and at some point I will tell what's wrong with me. I'll also say that Mark will be filling in."

" Okay."

Derek scoots over closer to me and wraps his arm around my shoulder. I wrap my arm around his torso and lay my head on his chest.

" You will be just fine. I will be back dancing with you in no time."

I look up at him.

" Don't worry about me, you just worry about getting yourself better."

He leans down and kisses my forehead. At this point I have forgotten that Mark was even in the room. I lay my head back down on Derek's chest.

" Well I umm am fixing to head home. Its kind of late." Mark says

" Okay." Derek replies

" I will see ya'll at the show tomorrow." he says

" Okay, bye." I say not even lifting my head off Derek's chest to look at him.

After Mark leaves Derek and I have still not moved.

" How was press?" he asks

" Alright, kind of boring without you there."

" Did any of them ask where I was?"

" Yes, I just told them you were at the doctor and would talk about it more on tomorrow's show." I say yawning

" Are you tired?" he asks

" Yeah, a little bit." I reply

" If you want to stay over you can. I thought Mark was going to stay or I would have told you earlier. I guess he got uncomfortable and left." he says laughing

" Haha, I had forget about him being in here."

" Me too. Do you want to go to bed?"

" Yes."

We get up off the couch and Derek holds my hand the whole way up the stairs. When we get to his bedroom I go and jump on the bed. His bed is amazingly comfortable. He walks over to the dresser and pulls out some pajama pants. Then he takes off his shirt and then his pants. He throws the pants on but doesn't put on another shirt, which I am perfectly fine with. I guess he catches me staring at him because he starts laughing.

" Enjoying the view?" he asks laughing

" Of course." I say smiling

He walks over and cuts the tv on and then cuts the lights off. He climbs into bed beside me. I just look at him smiling like an idiot but I cant help it.

" What?" he asks

" Just admiring my boyfriend."

" I love it when you call me that."

" You do, boyfriend." I say laughing

" Mark was a little friendly tonight. Wasn't he?"

" I didn't notice it. I did notice that you scowled when he picked me up. I actually laughed a little bit."

" Yeah I heard you giggling. I figured you were laughing at him."

" Nope, I was laughing at you."

" I love Mark, I mean he is like my brother and all. When we are both around you he brings out the devil in me. He is so flirty with you."

" I haven't thought of Mark like that in a long time."

" You mean you used to? I thought you said you never liked him."

" I did when I first met him. I mean come on I was 17. You cant expect me not to have had a crush on him."

" Did he ever ask you out?"

" No, not while we were on the show."

" But he did after?"

" Yes, we have kept in touch over the years. He was like my best guy friend. Any time I had problems with Ryan he was the first person I called."

" Oh I didn't realize you had that good of a relationship with him. He never told me he asked you out."

" That's probably because I said no."

" You did?"

" Yes, I was currently in a relationship at the time."

" Oh."

" Every time he flirts with me I usually don't notice. You know why?"

" Why?" he asks

He is sitting up against the pillows against the bed frame. I climb over to him and straddle his waist. I put both my hands on his chest and run my fingers up and down his stomach.

" Because I have this amazing boyfriend who I love and love to flirt with." I say while leaning in closer to him.

" He sounds like a lucky guy."

" Nope, I'm the lucky one."

I lean in all the way and kiss him. When are lips meet the kiss just explodes. His hands are running up and down my body and mine are running through his hair. He picks me up and flips me on my back. He has his elbow on the bed holding his weight up. His other hand is roaming all over my body. He suddenly pulls away.

" What is it?" I ask panting

" I just don't want us to get carried away, if you know what I mean."

" We wont, beside I love making out with you."

" You do?"

" Yes."

" Good, because I do too." he says laughing

I very carefully wrap my arms around his neck and pull him down to me. We start kissing again. We stop when we need to come up for air. We have changed positions and Derek's head is laying on my chest with his arm thrown over my stomach. Our legs our tangled between each others. This is probable the most comfortable I have ever been.

" Who knew for us to both be in such great shape we get out off breath making out."

" I know, I guess its just great kissing."

" I guess so." I say blushing

" Are you comfortable?"

" Yes, very much."

" Okay I just don't want to crush you."

" Your not going to crush me. I've told you before I'm pretty strong."

" I believe you. I mean just look at those muscles. I think your stronger than me."

" Oh shut up." I say giggling

" Its true."

" Your crazy."

He leans up off my chest and looks me in the eyes. His hand goes to my face and he starts rubbing my cheek.

" But you love me right?"

" Of course."

I lean in and close the little gap between us.

" As much fun as I'm having and would love to do this all night. I'm exhausted. Are you ready to go to sleep?" he says smiling

" Yes. Do you have a shirt I can put on?"

" Yeah there is one in the second drawer from the bottom."

I get out of the bed and walk over to the dresser. I grab a shirt and take mine off. I slip the other shirt on and when I see it goes all the way to my knees I take off my pants. I turn around and head back to the bed. I climb in and Derek is turned over on his side. I slide in with my back against him. He puts his arm over my waist.

" Goodnight, I love you." he whispers in my ear

" I love you too, goodnight."

The next morning I wake up and Derek is not in the bed. I roll over and on his pillow there is a note. There are two long stem roses laying beside it. It says " _Shawn, I had such a good night last night despite the news I got. I hoped you slept well. I'm sorry I had to go so early this morning, but I cooked breakfast. Its down stairs waiting on you. Love, Derek ;) _

He does the sweetest things for me. He just made my day already. I pick up the roses and smell them. I love the smell of roses they are my favorite flowers. I grab them and walk down stairs. Sure enough there is a plate sitting on the table with aluminum foil over it. Beside the plate there is another note. It says " _I see you found the plate. I fixed eggs, bacon, sausage, and some biscuits. I hope they are good and there is some milk in the fridge. Enjoy. Love Derek ;) _

Gosh I don't know how I got so lucky to find a guy like him. I remove the foil and eat my food. When I'm done eating I walk back up stairs and grab my clothes and put them back on. I grab my roses and both my notes and then leave his house. I have to go to my apartment and take a shower and wash my hair so the ladies can fix it for the show. When I get home I grab a cup and put some water in it and put the roses in it. I then grab my phone and text Derek. I text " _Thank you so much for breakfast. It was really good, you're an amazing cook. Your note and the roses was so sweet. I don't really deserve you. I love you so much. I will see you later. ;)" _After I send it I go and take a shower. When I get out I get dressed and grab a few things and then leave the apartment.

It takes me no time to get to the studio. The parking lot and its full. I look down at my phone and see its 3:00. Now wonder why everybody is already here. I go to my trailer to put everything up and then walk into hair and make up. It takes about 45 minutes for them to dry my hair and then curl it. Someone else comes over and puts my make up which takes another 30 minutes. I leave there and go back to my trailer to get dressed. I still haven't seen Derek the whole time I've been here. He might not even be here yet. Who knows with that guy. I just start smiling just thinking about him. He makes me so happy. I get dressed in my country clothes for tonight and then sit down to eat a snack. I grab a bowl of celery and some carrots. I hear someone knocking on my door. I walk over and open the door thinking it was Derek. Its not, its Sabrina and Melissa which is perfectly fine. I really haven't got to see them as much outside of practicing for dances.

" Hey ya'll, come on in."

They walk in and we sit down on the couch. " Do you want anything to eat? Got some good healthy foods." I say laughing

" You and your nutritious food." Sabrina says laughing

" I cant help it, I love it."

" Your crazy." Melissa says

" How is your knee?" Sabrina asks

" Its been decent. Some days it hurts more than others I will always have problems with it."

" I just feel bad because we were goofing off together."

" Its alright. I might would've hurt it another time while dancing."

" It don't look as bad as it did that day." Melissa says

" Yeah." Sabrina adds

" When it swells I just ice it for 30 minutes of so."

We sit and talk until its time to go. They both have to get there hair re-curled before the show. Thankfully my hair holds curl so I have another hour to do nothing before the show. I decide to walk to Derek's trailer and see if he is here. When I get there I knock on the door and Mark opens it.

" Hey, is Derek here?"

" Yeah, come on in."

I walk into the trailer and Derek is sitting on the couch icing his neck. I go over and sit down beside him. Mark walks in behind me and sits down on the chair.

" Hey babe." he says while leaning over and kissing me on the cheek

" Hey, I hadn't seen you and I was getting worried about you."

" I'm alright. My neck is just hurting pretty bad right now."

" Yes, Mr. Jackass over here thought he was okay and thought he could dance. I found him in the studio dancing up a storm. Now he is paying for it." Mark says

I slap Derek on the arm.

" Dancing? Are you crazy?" I yell

" I told you not to tell her!" Derek says through gritted teeth

" I'm not keeping that from here. Ya'll are dance partners and she should no."

" I'm glad he told me because other wise I wouldn't have found out."

" I was fine before I started dancing. My neck wasn't hurting at all. It will be okay."

" Yeah well now your neck is hurting like hell." I say

" And my arm from where you hit me." he says laughing

" This is not suppose to be funny." I say trying to hold back from laughing

" I'm fine, Mark got me some ice and now I'm fine. Just a little spell."

" Please just don't do anything that stupid again. Wait till you are 100 percent better."

" Yes please." Mark says

" Okay fine, I promise." Derek replies

We sit and talk for a little while. When the show is on Derek explains about his neck and that Mark will be filling in. You can tell he is in pain right now. The big dummy should have not went and danced. I hope Mark and I got through to him. We are safe and Sabrina and Louis get sent home. When I go up to hug her I just start crying. I cant believe she got sent home. She is such an amazing dancer. I guess that just proves even the best dances get sent home. When the show is all over with Derek and I say goodbye and I leave my trailer. I head home to my apartment. We are going to have a long week ahead of us.

_Hope you liked it. Please review, I always love to hear your feedback.- Mallory _


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

I'm laying down on the couch watching tv. I came straight home after the show was over. I have been home a couple hours. I hear a nock on the door. I get up and look through the hole to see who it is. To my surprise its Derek. I open the door and let him in.

" Well this is a surprise, I wasn't expecting you to come over." I say

" Yeah, I just wanted to come over and talk." he says

" Okay."

We walk into the living room and sit down on the couch. I turn the tv off and turn my body to face him. He has my full attention.

" I cooked some supper if your hungry its on the stove."

" I'm fine, thanks though."

" So, what did you want to talk about?" I ask him

" Well I just wanted to make sure we were okay."

" We are fine. Or at least I thought we were?"

" I just wanted to make sure you weren't still mad about earlier."

" I'm not anymore. I was pretty pissed off."

" Yes, I definitely could tell. Mark was pretty pissed too."

" He should have been. You dancing was pretty stupid while your neck is still hurting."

" Your right. Now that I have thought about it I shouldn't have done it. My neck just wasn't hurting at that moment so I thought it would be okay to dance again. I just want to dance with you so bad. I don't want Mark to come in and take my place for a whole week."

" He's not going to take your place. He is just filling in and then you will be back again."

" But what if I don't get better and he has to finish the season with you? That would be awful."

I get up from the couch and walk over to him. I sit down and straddle his waist. I think I take him by surprise because he looks shocked. I wrap my arms around his neck and give him a kiss on the lips.

" Derek, your going to have to have a little bit of faith in your body. We will take this one day at a time. We're in this together and I love you."

He leans in and wraps his arms around my waist. He kisses my forehead, cheeks, nose and then my lips.

" I'm so lucky to have you. I love you too."

I keep my arms around his neck. I lay my head in the crook of his neck, of course the side that's not hurt.

" Am I hurting you?" I ask

" No, I love snuggling with you."

" Good because I do too."

" So I have been thinking about telling people that we are dating." I say

I sit up in his lap so I can look at him while we're talking.

" And?"

" I don't think we should tell anybody."

" Why have you changed your mind all of a sudden?"

" I have been thinking about it for a couple days. When I found out Mark was going to be filling in it kind of just changed everything. I think it would be weird for him if he knew we were dating. I also don't want people thinking it's a put on just because we want to get more votes. I mean I could just imagine what practice would be like this whole week if Mark found out. It would be really awkward."

" I understand where your coming from. We should just wait till after the show is over before we tell anybody. If Mark starts flirting with you I will loose it."

" He's not going to be flirting with me." I say laughing

" He better not."

We lay there together for a few minutes before Derek's starts talking.

" Well I'm fixing to head home. Mark is coming over for a little bit so we can talk about the dance."

" Okay."

I get up from his lap and walk him to the door. I open the door and lean against it to hold it open.

" I will see you tomorrow at practice." Derek says

" Okay what time?"

" 8:00. Your going to have to get used to having a new partner so this week might be more difficult."

" Hopefully not."

I reach up so he doesn't have to bend down and softly give him a hug. I then kiss him on the lips.

" Bye." he says

" Bye."

I decide to take a quick shower and then head to bed. Going to be a long day tomorrow.

I wake up Wednesday morning nervous about practice. I take another shower and get my hair and make up done. I fix me a quick breakfast and then head to practice. On the way to the studio all I can think about is Derek and Mark. I hope this week goes good and Derek gets better so we can get back to dancing with each other. Its going to be weird to walk in the studio and dance with Mark. I arrive at the studio and see Derek and Mark's car in the parking lot. I pull in and park beside Derek. I walk into our practice room and Mark instantly comes running up and engulfs me in a hug.

" Hey Shawny, I have missed you. We are going to have some fun today." he says while swinging me around.

I look over at Derek and he looks like he is about to kill someone. He is staring us down so I smile shyly at him.

" Hey Mark."

When he sits me down I walk over to the steps where Derek is sitting. I put my bags down beside him and then sit down. " Hey Derek."

" Hello." he replies coldly

" How is your neck feeling?" I ask

" Its okay for now."

" Okay."

I get up and go sit in front of the mirror to stretch before we start dancing. Mark is sitting on the steps talking to Derek. Derek still looks like he could kill him. I get done stretching and walk over to them.

" So, are we ready to start?" I ask them

" Yeah, if you are." Mark replies

We walk onto the middle of the floor and Derek stays seated on the steps. Derek starts talking and explaining some of the dance. I can tell he is still pissed and Mark and I dancing together is not helping at all.

" I have missed dancing with you." Mark whispers to me

" Me too. You and Derek dance so different from each other."

Derek gets up from the steps and walks over to us.

" Ya'll are going to have to quit talking and start listening to me. Shawn your not doing the steps right and Mark your not doing it right either."

" Sorry bro."

" Yeah sorry."

" Well stop being sorry and do the steps again." Derek yells

I jump a little bit when he hollers. He walks back over to the steps and sits down. I cant get upset about him being mad I know he is just taking being mad at Mark out on me.

" Okay, now again." Derek says

We do the steps again and Derek is actually pleased with it. He teaches us a little bit more.

" Wonder what has his panties in a bunch?" Marks says

" I don't know." I say giggling

If Mark only new it was him Derek was mad at. Derek is sitting on the steps rubbing his neck while we practice the moves. I can tell his neck is hurting him pretty bad. He explains some more of the steps to us and so far we have almost learned half of the dance.

" Lets take a break." Marks says

" Okay."

We walk over to the steps and sit down beside Derek. He is still rubbing his neck.

" Are you okay? Do you need some ice?" I ask

" No I'm fine."

" Dude, you don't look fine. You look like your in pain. I'm going to go get you some ice." Mark says

Mark gets up and walks out of the room to get a bag of ice.

" Have I done something to piss you off?" I ask him

" No, everything is fine."

" Fine then if you don't want to talk we don't have to." I say

I get up and walk out of the room. I walk up to the rooftop to think a little bit. When I get up there I sit down on the ground and pull out my phone to check my messages. I felt it vibrating a lot in my pocket but with the mood Derek is in I wasn't going to check it. I look at the messages and its none other than Ryan. I have 5 from him. They all say the same thing.

It says " _Shawn, I have been telling you for almost a month how much I miss you and still love you. Can you please meet me for lunch or dinner. I really don't care where we meet. I just want to see you." _

I decide not to even text him back. I couldn't do that to Derek by going and meeting him and I honestly don't want to see him. I just wish he would go away. I know that's not going to happen but a girl can wish. I walk back down stairs and into our practice room. Mark and Derek are both sitting on the steps talking when I walk in.

" Where did you go?" Mark asks

" I went to the rooftop to think a little bit." I say

I walk over to the steps and set my phone down beside my bag.

" Are you ready to go over those steps again?" Marks asks

" Yeah, if you are."

Mark grabs my hand and I follow him onto the floor. We practice the moves for a good 25 minutes and then take another break. I can hear Mark's stomach growling. We walk over to the steps and Mark sits down beside my phone. It vibrates again and Mark looks over at it. Before I can reach down and grab it Mark grabs it.

" Your talking to that jackass again?" he says

" No, he keeps texting me. I haven't replied."

" Good you shouldn't. You can do so much better than him. He seems pretty obsessed you have 6 messages from him."

I snatch my phone away from him and look over at Derek. He looks even more pissed off than he did earlier.

" Mark please just shut up about it. I haven't talked to him and I'm not planning on it."

" Okay fine. I'll shut up."

" Thank you."

If Mark and I weren't such good friends I would be pissed off that he read who it was from. I read the texts from Ryan and again they all say the same thing. " _I can see that you read my message. Please text me back. I have come to every show and this Monday I'm going to talk to you. Please meet me somewhere." _

I lay my phone back down on my bag.

" Do ya'll want to go get something to eat?" Mark asks

" Sure." I say

" No I'm fine." Derek says

" Oh come on. Come with us." Mark replies

" Fine."

I grab my phone and follow Mark and Derek out of the studio. We decide to take Derek's car. Mark walks over to the passenger side and opens the door for me. I look up at Derek and he rolls his eyes. I slide into the car and Mark sits in the back. This is probably the most awkward car ride ever. Derek drives all the way to the little café we usually go to. The whole time nobody talks. Thank goodness it isn't that far away. We get there in no time. Mark jumps out of the car and opens my door for me again. I get out and we all walk into the café. We walk up and order our food.

" Good afternoon Miss Johnson and Mr. Hough. Nice to have you back. Do you want the usual?"

" Yes." we both say at the same time

Mark orders his food. The cashier has the food on 3 separate orders.

" I'll pay for yours Shawn. It was my idea to come here. Bro, your on your on." Marks says

" No there is no need to. I'll pay for mine."

Mark hands the cashier the money.

" You didn't have to pay but thank you." I say

" Anytime." Mark says

We walk over to a little booth and of course Mark sits down beside me.

" I'm going to use the bathroom." Mark says

He gets up and leaves and I look over at Derek. I can tell he is pretty pissed off.

" I know your mad."

" Yup, on a scale of 1-100 I'd say I'm about 100000. I have to sit there all day at practice and watch my best friend flirt with you and then I find out from him that your talking to your ex."

" First of all I'm not talking to Ryan. I said earlier that I didn't reply to the message. Second of all Mark is not flirting with me."

" What do you call opening the door for you, paying for your food, and making you laugh with all his little jokes? I sure as hell see that as flirting."

" I don't know but I can tell you one thing. You're my damn boy friend, shouldn't you be doing that for me?"

My phone vibrates on the table.

" Let me guess, that's Ryan again. Isn't it? Don't lie to me."

" Yes it is, do you also want to know what it says? It says " Shawn, I miss you so much. I don't think you understand how much I love you. I want to see you. Please meet me." That's what it says but hell at least one person in this damn world wants to see me!"

I see Mark walking back over to the table. He slides in beside me. I wipe the tear that has fell down my cheek.

" What's wrong with you?"

" Nothing, please just let me out of the booth. I'm not that hungry anymore."

When he gets up and lets me out I run out of the café. I sit down on the bench out side. I put my elbows on my knees and just let my tears fall. That was the first real argument Derek and I have had. It got pretty bad. I hear the door open and look up and its Mark. He walks over and sits down beside me. I lean back and he wraps his arm around my shoulder. I lean my head on his should and continue crying.

" Are you okay? I have never seen you like this before."

" Yeah, I'm fine. I don't want to talk about it. Are we fixing to leave?"

" I don't know. Derek is still eating."

" Are you kidding me?"

" No, I'm serious."

I lean into his shoulder and cry harder. He is just sitting in there eating like nothing has happened and everything is perfectly fine. Well I guess it is for him. He starts dating some girl that's 7 years younger than him. I probably don't even mean that much to him. Mark and I sit there for what feels like forever before Derek comes outside. I have stopped crying by then.

" Ya'll ready to go?"

" Yeah. We have been for a while." Mark says

" Sorry, I wanted to finish eating."

" It's okay."

Mark and I stand up and he grabs my hand and walks me to the car. Derek is following behind us. Mark walks to the passenger side.

" I'm going to sit in the back. You can sit up there with _him_" I say

" Ohkayy." Mark replies

Derek drives us back to the studio. I look out the window the whole time but I can feel him staring a hole threw my body. He is looking at me threw his rear view mirror. Its driving me crazy. When we get back to the parking lot after he stops I jump out of the car. I walk into our practice room and grab my bag and then walk back out. I meet Derek and Mark in the hallway.

" Where are you going?" Mark asks

" I'm going home. I don't feel like practicing right now."

" Okay, I'll call you later." he says

He walks up to me and gives me a hug. I don't even take the time to glance up at Derek. When he lets go I turn around and run back to my car. When I get to my car I jump in and just let out a big scream. How can my life go from perfect last night to being like shit today. I wish I could hit rewind. It takes me about 20 minutes to get back to my apartment. I drop my bag off in the floor and walk to the sofa. I lay down and fall asleep. I'm just mentally exhausted from crying.

I wake up and check my phone and its 5:00. I have been asleep for 4 hours. I have 9 missed calls from Derek, 5 from Mark, and 8 messages from Ryan. I decide to just ignore all of them. If I call Mark he will want to know why I was crying. I don't want to talk to Derek at the moment and I sure as heck don't want to talk to Ryan. I go and jump in the shower. When I get out I put my clothes on and then I hear a knock on the door. I check and see who it is and its Ryan. I open the door.

" How the hell did you find out where I live?"

" Your pretty popular. It wasn't really that hard. Are you going to let me in?"

" No."

" Please give me 5 minutes. I will leave after that."

" Only 5 and it starts now."

I open the door and go and sit down on the couch. I can hear Ryan walking behind me. He sits down on the couch across form me. It's a good thing he decide to keep his distance.

" So, you have 4 minutes now." I say

" You wont answer my calls or text messages. You don't go out and party much so I had no way of talking to you other than showing up here."

" Yeah that's a pretty good sign I don't want to talk to you if I ignore you."

" I understand that but I want to talk to you. I have been to the show to watch you dance every week and every time I just miss you more and more. I want you back. I love you."

" Ryan, I have told you before that we cant be together. We just aren't good for each other."

" You are great for me. I have never met anyone better for me than you."

" I guess the girl you cheated on me with was better than me. Or you obviously thought so."

" That was a mistake and we didn't even do anything. I have apologized for that so many times."

" That's not exactly what I heard and at this point I'm so glad I didn't have sex with you. I definitely wouldn't have wanted to catch some disease. If you really loved me you would have waited on me till I was ready. But no you had to go find some other girl to have sex with."

" We didn't do anything."

" You cant expect me to believe that you met her at a bar and you were drunk but you just talked. There is more to the story than that. We lived in a small town and word travels fast."

" That was our biggest problem was that you didn't trust me."

" Who would have blamed me? Before that little incident I had heard you had cheated on me before. But I didn't think my Ryan would have done that to me."

" I don't know where you heard any of that shit, but they were all wrong."

" It doesn't even matter anymore. The past is in the past."

" I just want a second chance."

" Ryan, this would be like the 50th chance."

" Just one more."

" I cant do it. I can not put myself through that again. Besides my family you were my world. I couldn't wait to come home to you everyday and see your smiling face. You made me happy and I thought we were going to get married. Hell, I could even picture us having a big family and being so happy. I thought you were my soul mate."

I wipe the tears that are falling down my cheeks. Before Ryan can respond I hear a knock on the door.

" Hold on, I got to get that." I say

I walk to the door and look through the hole. Its Derek. This day just keeps getting better and better. I open the door.

" Derek, what do you want?"

" I want to talk to you. We need to talk this out."

" Right now is not a good time. You should go."

" I'm not leaving. We have to talk about this."

" Please, just come back later but not right now."

" Is he here?"

" Who?"

" Ryan."

Derek comes in and walks into the living room. I run to catch up with him. He looks down at Ryan sitting on the couch.

" So we have a fight and you run back to him? Is that how its going to be?" Derek asks angrily

" No, that's not how it is. He just showed up here and I gave him 5 minutes to talk."

" You were crying because of him when you opened the door? Not because we had a huge fight?"

" And you made us stay an extra 30 minutes at the café so you could finish your damn sandwich? Not to mention I was bawling my eyes out and your just sitting in there eating like it was no big deal."

" I'm sorry but who are you?" Ryan asks

" I'm Derek the boyfriend and your Ryan the ex right?"

" Yes and did you say boyfriend?"

" Yeah I did actually. Boy-Friend. Sound it out there buddy."

" Oh I know who you are. You're the dance partner."

" Yeah and the boyfriend."

" Okay, I get it."

" Yes, please lets remember that while your talking to my girlfriend about getting back together with her."

" She didn't say anything about a boyfriend."

" Oh really."

" We discussed this last night that we were not telling anybody." I say

" Yeah but I at least figured that if your ex showed up you would tell him that you are happily take. You don't have to tell him who its none of his business. He lost that when ya'll broke up."

" I didn't have a chance to tell him any of that because you showed up."

" Well I can leave so ya'll can talk about fixing your problems."

He turns around and walks away. I catch his arm when he is at the door, and I gently turn him around to me.

" Don't go. Ryan and I are done talking. I want to talk to you. Not him." I say through tears

" Its pretty obvious ya'll weren't done talking. I wouldn't want to interrupt you."

" Would you stop being a stubborn ass and listen to me."

Before he can reply I see Ryan walking up behind me.

" Listen dude, if your going to be making her cry maybe you should leave." Ryan says

" I know your not talking to me. I will kick your ass." Derek replies

They walk towards each other and are nose to nose. I quickly walk in between them and push Derek back away from Ryan.

" Please don't do this. I don't want you getting in a fight with him."

I reach up to kiss his cheek and he turns away.

" Okay, then if that's how your going to be I want you to leave. Not only you but both of you. And before you go lets get one thing straight. I love you and only you. I haven't been this hurt before in a long time. I really hope that we can talk about this after you calm down. I don't want to let something this great just go away. And for you Ryan, I'm not getting back together. You had your chance and you messed it up. I have forgiven you but I cant forget about the past. I am happily dating Derek. We have had the perfect relationship up until today. Now you both can leave."

I back away from Derek and Ryan is the first one to leave. Derek looks at me one more time and then leaves. I sink to the floor and just start bawling. I cant believe this has just happened.

_Hope you liked this chapter. I almost cried while writing the fighting parts. I had to give it a little bit of drama. Please review! - Mallory _


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

I roll over in the bed Thursday morning and look at the clock. Its 11:00 and I guess I should get out of bed. I got no sleep at all last night and all I could think about was Derek. I haven't talked to him since yesterday. I've been wanting to text him but I don't know if he wants to talk to me. I check my phone and I have a message from Mark. It says " _Derek wanted me to text you and tell you that we have practice today at 12:30." _

I guess that answers my question that Derek doesn't want to talk to me. I hit reply " _Thanks for letting me know. I'll be there." _I hit send and get out of bed to take a shower. All I did last night was cry until I had no more tears. I feel like I'm missing something, like I have a hole in my body. I could care less how good I look for practice. I don't put on any make up. I brush my hair and then pull it up in a loose pony tail. I walk into the kitchen and grab my bag and then head to the studio. It takes me maybe 20 minutes to get there. There aren't a lot of cars there but I do spot Derek's and Mark's. I'm actually surprised Derek even showed up. I figured he would just teach Mark the dance and not even come. A little bit of me is happy that he's here and then another side of me is not happy. Since he's here it means I'm going to have to act like nothing has happened. I'm so confused about my feelings. I for sure want to be with Derek and no part of me wants anything to do with Ryan but then there is the difficulty in us having a relationship. We have to hide it, I haven't even told my parents and I don't think he has told anyone. I'm also not going to just give up. That's not how I do things, if its worth fighting for then I will fight. I walk into our practice room and Mark and Derek are sitting on the steps talking. Derek has an ice pack on his neck and Mark's just sitting there beside him. I walk up to the steps and set my bag down. I look over at Derek and we make eye contact for a second and then he looks away.

" You look like hell." Mark says

" Thanks, its nice to see you too."

" No, I'm for real. Do you feel okay?"

" I'm alright. I just didn't get much sleep last night."

" Yeah, I can tell. Your eyes are red as a beet. Have you been crying."

" No." I say looking away from him.

" Okay. I'm here if you want to talk about it. I know your upset and have been crying. You forget that we have been friends for years and I know you really well."

" Mark, I cant forget how long we have been friends. I'm fine."

I walk over to the mirror and start doing my stretches. When I'm done I walk over to the steps.

" Are you ready?" I ask Mark

" Yeah if you are."

We walk out onto the middle of the floor and get in our starting position for the dance. We go over the steps we learned yesterday. We do those and I only have a few mess ups. Derek stands up and walks over to us. He starts explaining some of the new steps.

" Oh my goodness, he speaks." I mumble under my breath

" What was that?" Derek asks

" Oh, nothing."

He rolls his eyes and then goes back to explaining some of the dance. Mark and I dance some of the new moves he taught us. After 30 or so minutes have passed I have learned over half of the dance. We keep going over the moves we learned yesterday and today. I keep messing up.

" Shit." I yell

" It's okay. Just calm down." Marks says

" I can't, I know these moves and I'm doing all of them wrong."

" Let's just take a break." he says

" No, lets just keep going."

" Okay." he says reluctantly

We practice for about 20 more minutes and I'm still messing up. I don't know why I cant do this dance right. I know how to do it, its just like my head isn't working with my body. Derek is still standing in front of us. Mark pulls me close to him and wraps me in a hug.

" Just breathe, you aren't doing as bad as you think."

" The hell I'm not. I cant do anything right these days. In my life and while dancing." I say while walking away from him.

" I'll be back later." I say to them.

I walk out of the room and go to the rooftop. I'm glad I found the place, I really love coming up here to think. I walk over to the edge and sit down and let my feet dangle over the edge. I start singing a song that my mom used to sing to me when I was younger. I didn't know anyone is behind me until I hear them talking.

" You have a great voice. I didn't know you could sing." Derek says

I turn around and look at him. He walks over to me and sits down. He throws his legs over the edge like mine.

" Oh my goodness? Is this real life? Is Derek Hough actually talking to me. Hold me back I might fall of this roof." I say sarcastically

" Real funny, I guess I could go back to not talking to you." he says while getting up.

I grab his leg and pull him back over to me.

" I'd rather you not leave. I'm glad your talking to me."

" I wanted to talk to you but I didn't know if you wanted to talk to me."

" Same here. Did you get much sleep last night?"

" Yes, slept like a baby."

" Must've been nice."

" I'm kidding. I didn't sleep at all and all I could think about was you. I kept replaying our fight over and over in my head."

" You were all I could think about too. This was our first big fight and I don't like fighting with you."

" I don't like it either. I have never had this problem with girls. I mean I have dated some pretty girls but I didn't have to deal with other guys flirting with them and ex boyfriends just randomly showing up."

" I don't have much experience in this department either. Ryan, one other guy, and you are the only relationships I've had."

" I was so lost yesterday. I was pissed off at Mark for flirting with you, and then at you when I found Ryan at your apartment. I didn't know what to do. I have never been that upset in my life."

" I understand the Mark thing, but with Ryan I didn't know he was going to show up. I didn't know you were coming there either. He just randomly popped up and wanted to talk. I was only going to give him 5 minutes and then make him leave. You didn't give me time to explain that yesterday."

" That was my mistake. I should have let you explain, but I just jumped to conclusions. I have been cheated on before, so when I found your ex boyfriend in your apartment I thought the worst."

" I understand that too. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have even let him come in and we wouldn't have argued. We wouldn't be miserable right now."

" It's your choice of what to do with your life. If you would have made him leave you might have been thinking what if I would have let him come in."

" Derek you should know me enough that I live life to the fullest. I don't have regrets and I live in the moment."

" I know and that's the thing I love about you."

" Oh, love?"

" Yes, Shawn Johnson, I love you."

" Good, because I love you too."

He scoots over closer to me and wraps his arm around my shoulder. He then kisses me on the head and I wrap my arm around the back of his waist. I snuggle my head into his shoulder.

" Even though it has not even been 24 hours. I have missed being in your arms. I don't think I have cried or been more miserable in my life. That was the worst pain ever. I think the thing that hurt me the most was I went to kiss you and you turned away. I thought we were done when you did that."

" I don't know why I did that. I was just so pissed off I couldn't even think and then I was about to kiss Ryan's ass."

" He deserved it, I just didn't want ya'll fighting in my apartment."

" I had to stick up for my woman and show him who was boss. That I was the boyfriend and he doesn't stand a chance."

" That sound so romantic but yet very violent." I say giggling

" I love hearing you laughing. That's so much better than watching you cry. I thought I was going to loose it when I seen Mark out there comforting you while your cried. The whole time I was thinking that's my Shawn and I should be out there holding her."

" To be honest with you. I don't think I have any more tears to cry. I cried all night until couldn't cry anymore."

" I'm so sorry."

" I am too."

I reach up and kiss him. It's a quick kiss but at least we are kissing again. Dang I have missed this man and its not even been a full day.

" We should probably go back down." I say

" I know, but I don't want to."

" Me either."

We sit up there for an hour or so. We talk a little bit, kiss some, and most of the time just sit and stare at each other. All I can think about while we are up there is how much I don't want to loose him. I don't know what I would do without him. After this time up here I think he thinks the same.

" Well we should probably go back down." Derek says

He stands up and offers his hand down to me. I take it and he pulls me up against him. He puts one hand around my waist holding me tighter. The other he puts on my cheek. He rubs his thumb up and down. I wrap my arms around his waist.

" This is what I have been waiting to do."

He leans in closer and his lips capture mine. His tongue is skimming my bottom lip asking for entrance. I of course allow it and open my mouth. I feel his tongue in my mouth and our tongues start moving in a rhythm together. I jump up and he catches me. I wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. I'm careful not to pull on his neck. He has his arms up under my butt holding me up higher. When we pull away for air he starts spinning around in circles.

" I'm so happy to have you back. Its like we're on cloud 9." Derek says

" Me too. I love you." I say laughing

" I love you too."

I jump back down on the ground and Derek takes my hand. We walk back to the practice room. We walk in together but are not holding hands anymore. Mark is sitting on the steps playing on his phone.

" Okay, I think I'm ready to do this dance again." I say

" You know you could have just told me." Mark says

" What are you talking about?" I ask

" You and you, together?" he says

" Your talking crazy talk bro." Derek says

" I seen it for my own eyes. I'm not going crazy." Mark replies

" Maybe we should just tell him." I whisper to Derek

" Okay." he replies to me

" Fine, we are dating." I say

" I knew it. It makes perfect sense why you both were upset yesterday and this morning. I mean you didn't even speak to each other when you got to practice."

" Yeah, we had a pretty big fight yesterday." Derek says

" I heard ya'll talking about it earlier up on the rooftop."

" Are you spying on us?" I ask

" No, of course not. You said yesterday you went up on the rooftop when you needed to think. Well Derek had left and I didn't know where he went. I knew you would be up there and I was just sitting in here all by myself. I went up there and I seen ya'll sitting there talking to each other. I could hear your conversation and I stayed and listened. I heard all of it and then seen ya'll kiss and then came back down here."

" So you heard all of it?" Derek asks

" Yes and if you felt that way you should have just told me. I admit I used to like Shawn but I don't anymore. I have a girlfriend and I was just playing around with her. Shawn your like my little sister and I know you think of me as a big brother. Derek you are my brother so you should have just told me straight up."

" Well we at first we didn't want anybody to know and then Sabrina found out. Then we decided what the hell we didn't care if people found out. Then I decided a couple of days ago that I didn't want people to find out because I didn't want them to think we were together to get votes. I also didn't want you to be uncomfortable while you were in here." I say

" I'm fine with it. I'm happy for you and its about time you found a good guy, Shawn." Mark says

" Yeah, I think he's pretty great." I reply

" Aww thanks babe." Derek says

He leans down and kisses me.

" Hey, hey now. None of that while I'm here. Let me get used to it. My best friend and my brother dating? It might take me a while." he says laughing

" Fine." Derek and I say at the same time

Mark and I practice the dance and I don't mess. We all decide to call it a day and have practice early in the morning to learn the rest of the dance. Mark has some music thing to go do, so its just Derek and I in the studio. He is sitting on the top step and I'm sitting on the step below that one. I'm sitting between his legs with my elbows resting on his arms. Our fingers our intertwined together.

" So, Miss Johnson, do you have plans tonight?"

" No, Mr. Hough I do not."

" Would you care to accompany me to dinner tonight?"

" Let me think about it."

I get up from where I was sitting and then sit down on his leg. I sit on his thigh and throw my legs over his other leg. He is holding me like a baby.

" Okay, done thinking. Of course I would."

" Good."

I lean up and kiss him on the lips. When we are done kissing we both stand up and he takes my hand. I grab my bag and then we walk out of the studio together.

" Where are we going tonight?" I ask

" It's a surprise." he says

" Okay, what should I wear?"

" Whatever you like."

" Your not giving anything away." I say

" Nope."

" I bet I could make you."

I reach up and wrap my arms around his neck. I lean in close but don't make contact.

" Bring it." he says

" Don't try me." I whisper in his ear

I let go of him and walk away. When I get to my car I give him the most seductive look and then wink at him. I get in my car and drive off looking at him in my rearview mirror.

_Hope you all like this chapter. I enjoyed writing it and I cannot wait to write about their date for next chapter. I already know what I want to do. Please review.- Mallory _


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

I've been home from practice for about an hour. Its 5:00 and Derek text me earlier and said he would pick me up at 5:30. I've already had my shower and fixed my hair. I curled my hair and put my make up on. I'm wearing black shorts, a sparkly gold tank top, and black flip flops. The shorts are really short and show off my legs really well. I put on jewelry and now I'm sitting on the couch waiting for him to come. I've been going crazy all day wondering where he is taking me. I hear a knock on the door. I get off the couch and look threw the hole. Its Derek. I open the door and he looks mighty fine. He has on black jeans and a nice blue shirt that brings out the color of his eyes. His shirt is tucked in with a leather jacket on. His hair is slicked back like it always is and he looks incredible.

" You look very hot." I say

" So do you." he says blushing

I reach over and give him a kiss on the cheek. My lipstick came off on his cheek where I kissed him. I lick my thumb and rub the lipstick off his cheek. He just looks at me like I'm crazy.

" Sorry, my lipstick left a mark on your cheek where I kissed you." I say

" It's cool, I just haven't had anybody do that to me since I was little. When all those old women would come up to you and pinch your cheeks and say aren't you the cutest thing and then kiss you on both sides of your cheeks. My mom was always licking her thumb and wiping the marks away."

" Never had that happen to me. I don't really like it when random people touch my face."

He walks closer towards me and grabs my hips. Then he pulls me closer to him.

" I'm glad you don't mind me touching your face." he whispers

He then leans in and kisses my lips. Hard. His hands are wrapped around my waist almost touching my butt. My arms are wrapped around his neck holding him closer to me. Our tongues have already invaded each others mouths and we are kissing very passionately. He slowly pulls away biting my lip in a very seductive way. We are both breathing hard.

" If I don't stop kissing you now we'll never leave your apartment." he says panting

" I know." I say blushing

He takes my hand and our fingers intertwine. We walk out of my apartment and go to his car. He leads me over to the passenger side and opens the door for me. I get in and he closes the door and walks around the car and then gets in. He starts the car and pulls out on the highway. We have been driving for about 30 minutes and I have no idea where we are. I've been in LA enough to know my way around but I have no idea where we are going.

" Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

" Nope, it's a surprise."

" Not even a little hint?"

" I'm excited about it and I hope you will be too."

" That's not a hint." I say giggling

" I know, just trust me."

" I do."

He holds the steering wheel with one hand and picks up my hand with his other. He gently kisses it and then our fingers intertwine. We sit and listen to the radio while we ride. Every now and then Derek will hear a song come on that he likes and will start singing. We ride around a little bit longer until he is going up a rode and then comes to a complete stop.

" Are we there?" I ask

" No, we still have about 3 or 4 miles."

" Okay, good. I'm ready to see where we're going."

" I need you to do one thing?"

" What is it?"

He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a blind fold.

" I want you to put this on. I want this to be a big surprise."

" Do I have too?"

" I really want you too and remember your going to have to trust me."

" Okay I'll put it on."

He puts the blind fold on me. " Can you see anything?" he asks

" No." I answer truthfully

" Okay good. We are almost there."

He leans over and kisses my lips. I then hear him start the car again. I cant see anything at all. I can hear the radio playing and Derek singing. I wish I could see but this date must mean a lot to Derek. He is really happy about it. I bet he's also nervous too just in case I don't like where we are going. There is no possible way that can happen. As long as I'm with him I'm happy. We've been riding for about 10 minutes and then I feel the car come to a stop.

" Okay, we are here. I'm going to come open the door for you and then lead you to where we are going. No peeking."

" Okay. I wont."

I hear the car door shut and then I hear mine open. I feel Derek grab my hand and I use it to get out of the car. Our fingers intertwine and I let Derek lead me to wherever it is that we're going. We walk for a little bit and then Derek stops.

" Okay, we're here. Take your blind fold off."

I take it off and I see a big boat in front of me. We are standing on a boat dock. The boat is white and not as big as a ship but still pretty big. In big black letters on the side of the boat it says "Shawnough." He must have bought the boat and named it after us. This is the sweetest thing anybody has ever don't for me. I look over at him and he is grinning at me.

" Well, do you like it? We are going to have dinner on it and ride around in the ocean."

" Do I like it? I love it!" I scream

" Good, because its our boat. Anytime we want to take it out we can. I have hired a person to drive it."

He is standing in front of me while he's talking. I jump at him and he catches me and spins me around. I kiss him on the cheek.

" This is the best slash sweetest thing anybody has ever done for me." I yell

" I'm glad you like it."

I quickly jump out of his arms.

" I'm so sorry, I forgot about your neck."

" Your fine. Your light as a feather so it doesn't hurt."

" I just don't want to hurt it any worse by pulling on it."

" Its fine, forget about my neck. Lets go on the boat."

He takes my hand and we walk out to the edge of the dock. We have to climb up the ladder to get on. I get on the ladder first to climb it. I get all the way to the top of the boat and then turn around and Derek is still standing on the dock.

" What are you doing?" I ask

" Admiring the view of you climbing that ladder in those short shorts. Your legs muscles are out of this world."

" Shut up and get up here with me." I say laughing

" Coming right up." he says grinning

When he gets up the ladder we take a tour of the boat. We meet the captain and he explains some of the safety procedures. When he gets done talking we walk to the front of the boat and lay down on the mat. Derek is leaning back and I'm sitting between his legs laying on his chest. Our fingers and intertwined together and are laying in my stomach. The captain has started the engine and we are riding around.

" I love the boat."

" Me too, I especially love it because it ours."

" I love the name. That was really sweet of you."

" It took me a while and then it just came to me all of a sudden. I was like it has to be it. That's perfect."

" It is absolutely perfect."

He leans down and kisses me the top of my head. I turn around towards him and kiss his lips.

" I love you." I say

" I love you too."

I turn around and lay back down on his chest. He has his hands on my stomach and are rubbing them up and down.

" Are you hungry? I got a chef to prepare us food for tonight."

" Yes, I am starving."

" Lets go eat then."

He stands up and then reaches down to help me up. I take his hand and he leads me to the back of the boat. There is a table set up with a red table cloth and two chairs across from each other. There are two plates and two napkins with silver ware sitting on the napkins. There is also two candles that are lit sitting in the middle of the table. He leads me over to the chair and pulls it out for me. I take a seat and then he sits down across from me. As soon as we sit down a man comes up wearing a apron.

" What would you two like to drink?"

" Water for me." I say

" The same." Derek replies

" Okay, I'll be back in a minute to get your order." he says while handing us two menus.

" So we are having Chinese food tonight. Do you know what you want?" Derek asks

" I always get the Chow Mein every time I eat at a Chinese restaurant."

" What is that?"

" Its has noodles, vegetables, and can also have chicken in it. I love it."

" Okay, I'll trust you and get the same thing." he says

" You wont regret it. How did you decide for us to have Chinese?"

" Well I figured you liked it since you had to eat it while you were in Beijing."

" Yeah I didn't really like it until I went there. Now I could eat it like everyday."

" I'm glad you like it."

The waiter comes back and gets our orders. 30 or so minutes later he comes back with our food. My eyes light up when I see it.

" Dig in." I say

I watch Derek grab his fork and take a bite of the noodles. He starts smiling instantly.

" That's good." he says

" Told you so." I say grinning

It takes us about 10 minutes to eat our food and then the waiter comes back and gets the plates.

" Would you like any dessert?"

" I would love some vanilla ice cream." Derek says

" I don't want anything. Thank you though."

He leaves with Derek's order of ice cream. We wait a minute or so and then he brings back a fancy bowl with 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream. Derek grabs his spoon and takes a bite.

" Ahh man, this is awesome. I love ice cream." he says

" I can tell." I say laughing

" Here take a bite."

He holds out the spoon and I open my mouth. The ice cream slides right off the spoon and into my mouth.

" That is good." I say

" Told you." he says laughing

I'm watching Derek while he is eating. He just looks extra good tonight. I don't know what it is. It may be the shirt bringing out his eyes. I stop day dreaming when I feel cold liquid on my cheek.

" Why did you do that?"

" I was talking to you and you were not even listening to me."

I get up out of my chair and walk over to him. I sit down in his lap and throw my legs over his thigh. I dip my finger in the bowl and get some ice cream. I wipe it on his nose.

" There is payback." I say

He reaches his hand back in the bowl.

" Not uh. You cant do it again." I say

" I could."

" Please don't. I don't want to be all sticky."

" Okay, fine."

Very quickly I dip my finger in the bowl and wipe some on his cheek.

" That wasn't fair."

" I know." I say laughing

He reaches for the napkin to wipe it off and I grab his hand.

" I'll do it."

I lean my head over and kiss his cheek getting all the ice cream off of it. I then kiss his lips.

" You taste like vanilla." I say

" Ha, I would believe so. Are you done eating?"

" Yes."

" Let's go dance."

" There is no music."

" There will be."

I get off of his lap and he takes my hand and leads me towards the front of the boat. He walks over and grabs the I-dock and plugs it in and then sits his phone in it. He cuts some music on. He then walks back over to me and reaches his hand out to me.

" May I have this dance?" he asks

" Of course." I reply

We walk over to the middle of the floor and I wrap my arms around his neck. He wraps his arms around my waist. There is definitely a big height difference between us since I'm wearing flip flops. We dance through the whole song. When the song is over he dips me to the side and bends down and kisses me on the lips. He sits me back up on my feet and I grab him and wrap him in a big hug.

" I love you." I whisper in his ear

" I love you too. Lets go watch the sun set."

" Okay."

We walk up to the very front of the boat. I stand up against the rail and Derek stands behind me. He has his arms wrapped around my waist laying his hands on my stomach. I have my hands laying on top of his. I'm so short standing in front of him. He is at the perfect height to rest his chin on the top of my head. We are facing the direction where the sun is fixing to go down. I love watching the sun set, they are always pretty.

" Lets take a picture." I say

" Okay."

I take my phone out of my pocket. Derek moves his chin off my head and nuzzles his face in my neck. I snap the picture and then show him.

" I love that. Send it to me later." he says

" Okay, I will."

I set the picture as my wallpaper and then put it back in my pocket. We get back into our previous position and then sun starts going down.

" Its so beautiful." Derek says

" I agree 100 percent."

After the sun goes down the captain cuts on some of the lights on the boat. Its not near as bright as it was earlier but its fine. As long as I can see Derek's face I'm not complaining. We have walked backed to the mat and sat down.

" I hate to say this but are you ready to go? We have a long drive back home." he says

" I'm not ready but we should go. We have a early practice tomorrow for all the time we missed today."

" Your right."

He stands up and then offers his hand out to me. I take it and he leads me over to the captain's place.

" Can you head back to the dock?" Derek asks

" Yeah, we aren't far. It won't take but about 5 or 10 minutes."

" Okay, thanks."

Derek is still holding my hand and he leads me back over to the mat. We sit down facing each other. We are both sitting with our legs crossed.

" Your eyes look really beautiful tonight." he says

" Thank you. Yours do too." I say

" Tonight yours are like a gold color. They look amazing, let me take a picture of you."

" Are you serious? A picture of just me?" I ask chuckling

" Of course I'm serious."

He takes out his phone and points it in my direction.

" Okay, one, two, three." he says

I cant help it and I start laughing.

" This is the best picture I have ever seen." he says

" Let me see it."

He holds out his phone for me to look at it.

" I'm laughing." I say

" I know, but it looks great. I love seeing you laugh."

I hand the phone back to him. He puts it back up and grabs my hands. He brings both of them up to his lips and kisses each one. Our fingers intertwine and we are sitting there staring at each other.

" Shawn I've got something that I want to tell you."

" Okay, what is it?" I ask nervously

" I've had a rough couple of days. I mean with us fighting and all. I know we have already talked about this but I have more to say. I've been through pretty tough break ups before and I've had long relationships that I have had to end. With our relationship I didn't know if you wanted to work things out or if you were going to give up on it. I said a couple of mean things to you. I mean I accused you of cheating on me with Ryan. That was uncalled for because anyone that knows you knows that you don't cheat."

" Derek, its fine. I shouldn't have even let him in to talk to me. It was stupid on my part. I should have just made him leave or not opened the door."

" Its not your fault. Don't blame yourself because it takes two people in a relationship."

" I know and I cant help it. I mean if I would have just made him leave we wouldn't have even been fighting."

" Yes we would have. Remember Mark couldn't keep his hands off of you."

" I don't want to talk about him, Ryan, or about the fighting. I just want us to be happy right here and right now. Lets forget about what happened and move on."

" I will move on in just a minute. I still haven't told you what I wanted to tell you."

" Okay, go ahead."

" Alright so back to what I was saying. I had no idea if we were over or if you even wanted to talk to me. I was depressed and I just didn't know what to do. We haven't been dating a long time but it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt. I couldn't get over the fact that I just walked out of your apartment without us being okay. I should have stayed and talked it out with you instead of leaving mad and upset. When Mark was holding you while you were crying all I could think about was how that should be me and not him."

He takes a breath and then continues.

" I went to hell and back just in the short length of time that we were fighting. It was pure hell and I didn't know what to do about it. It made me re-think about my life and how it would be if you weren't in it. I want you in my life and I don't want you to ever leave. What I want to tell you is that it made me realize that I not only love you, but I'm in love with you. You are the best thing that has happened to me. I don't want to loose what we have. I haven't had a relationship in a while but when I met you I could just see us together. Like I tell you all the time you're my little spark and have just come up in my life and made it better and brighter. I love you so much Shawn Machel Johnson. I'm so glad we meet each other and God put you in my life."

I take a few deep breaths and wipe the tears off of my face that are running down my cheeks.

" Derek. I. Love. You. So. Much." I say between sobs

He leans over and wraps me in a hug. I can barley breathe between crying and him holding me so tight but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but in his arms. When he lets go of me I try to collect myself again before talking.

" Hey, its okay, don't cry." he say

He puts his thumb on my face and starts wiping the tears away. After a few seconds I stop crying.

" Derek, I feel the same way about you completely. I'm so lucky to have a guy like you. I think God everyday that I get to see you and I met you. I truly believe that maybe my gymnastics career didn't work out because it was my fate to come on the show and meet you. After I retired I didn't know what I was going to do with my life. Gymnastics was all I knew for so many years and when I thought what I wanted to do nothing stood out. Then I got the call to dance again and I couldn't possibly turn that down. I didn't have any confidence in myself and already you have given that to me. I haven't ever been emotional in a dance and in just one week you pulled that out of me. You told me to show vulnerability is to show strength. I would have never worn that Mambo costume but you got me too. I can't think you enough for doing that for me. You might not have none you were doing it when you did it but I will always be in debt for that."

I take a big deep breath and then continue.

" I love you so much and I think I have been in love with you for a while. After I hurt my knee again and you took care of me it really showed how much you cared. I couldn't ask for a better boyfriend. Your sweet, funny, charming, good looking, and all around a great person. The list could go on forever. I just want you to know that I'm not going anywhere and I will never just give up on us. We have something to special and I don't give up on anything."

He stands up and reaches his hand out to me. I take it and he pulls me closer to him. He puts his hand on my cheek and then runs his fingers through my hair. I lean in close to him and then he leans in closer. Our lips meet and it's the best moment. All of our emotions mixed up in one kiss. I wrap my arms around his neck and he has his wrapped around my waist. When we pull away for air he picks me up and spins me around. He stops spinning when he sees somebody behind us. He sits me down and I turn around and the captain is behind us.

" I'm sorry to interrupt but we are back at the dock."

" Okay, thank you." I reply

" Yes, thank you." Derek says

He leans down and kisses me on the lips one more time.

" Are you ready?"

" Yeah, if you are." I say

He takes my hand and kisses it and then our fingers intertwine.

" Please stay the night with me." he says

" Of course."

We walk over to the ladder and Derek goes down first. I then go down after him. When I get to the bottom he takes my hand and leads me to the car. He hasn't let go of me since we talked earlier. When we get to the car he opens the door and I get in. He walks around and climbs in. He then starts the car and pulls out on the road. He cuts on the radio and starts singing. I take his hand out of his lap and lace my fingers between his. We lay our intertwined hand on the console and Derek continues singing along to the radio.

I didn't know I drifted off to sleep until I feel Derek poking me.

" Shawn, wake up. We are at my house."

I unbuckle myself and get out of the car. Derek is standing in front of the car waiting on me.

" Do you want me to carry you, sleepyhead."

" No, I can walk. I wouldn't want you to hurt your neck."

" I've told you that holding you doesn't hurt. You weigh nothing, its like carrying air."

" I'm fine. I can walk like two feet to your back door."

He walks over to me and scoops me up in his arms. I wrap my arms around his neck and he's holding me like a baby.

" I told you I could walk."

" Yeah, maybe sleep walk."

" I'm 100 percent awake."

" Okay, whatever you say." he says laughing

He carries me through the door and then up the stairs. He lays me down on the bed and bends down and kisses me on the forehead. When he goes to pull away I motion for him to lean back down. He does and I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him. He falls down on the bed and runs his hands up and down my body. I run my fingers through his long blonde hair. He stops kissing me and lays his head on my chest. He places soft kisses on my bare chest that is showing. Then he moves up and starts kissing my neck. He starts at one side and kisses me all the way to the other side. I grab his head with both of my hands and gently bring him back up to my lips. I kiss him and then help him out of his jacket. Then I reach for the hem of his shirt and start to pull it off. It gets to his chest and then he stops kissing me and pulls his shirt back down.

" I don't want to go to far to fast." he says panting

" I can't help myself."

" Oh, believe me I know. I feel the same way."

I reach back up and kiss him on the lips and then run my fingers through his hair.

" You have great hair." I say

" Thank you, its getting really long."

We hear a noise and look over at the door and Mark is standing in the door way.

" Ahhhh, my eyes." he says while walking off

Derek quickly gets off of me and I readjust my shirt and shorts.

" I'll be right back." Derek says

" What the hell Mark, how long have you been standing there." I hear Derek ask.

" Not long. All I seen was you laying on top of her."

" Well you could have at least knocked on the door."

" Dude, I cleared my throat. I brought Romey back and I didn't know you would be having company."

" Okay, fine and thanks for watching him."

" Be good to her. Don't treat her like shit. She has been through a lot." Mark says

" I know bro. I really love her."

" Just promise me."

" I promise."

I walk out of the bedroom blushing. Romey comes running up to me and I drop to my squat down to pet him. He starts licking me in the face and I start laughing. He gets so excited that he knocks me over and I fall on my butt. I really start laughing hard then.

" Hey Romey, quit." Derek says

He walks over to me and helps me up.

" He kind of got a little excited." Derek says

" I agree." I say still laughing

" Well, I'm going to head home and I'll see ya'll tomorrow."

" Bye." Derek and I say in unison

We walk back into the bedroom and he lays down on the bed. Romey comes in and joins us.

" Do you have a shirt I can wear for tonight."

" Yeah, they are were they usually are."

I go over to his drawer and pull out a shirt.

" Is it bad that I know exactly where your shirts are?" I ask

" No I don't think so." he says laughing

I walk over to the light switch and cut it off. I take off my shirt and my shorts and then put the shirt on. I cut the light back on after I have changed. I walk over to the bed and crawl in beside Derek.

" I got to change clothes before we get comfortable." he says

" Okay."

He gets out of the bed and walks over to the dresser and pulls out some pajama pants. He takes off his shirt and then his pants. Then he slips the other pants on and walks back over to the bed. He climbs in and snuggles up next to me. I'm laying on my side facing his bedroom door. He is laying beside me on his side and his arm is laying over my stomach. I have my fingers intertwined with his. We are spooning and we are so close that I can feel him breathing in my ear. It sends shivers up my body. Romey is curled up at the foot of the bed.

" Sleep tight and I love you." I say

" Goodnight, I love you too." he replies

_Hope you liked it. I loved this chapter so much. Please review.- Mallory _


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

The next morning I wake up at Derek's house. We are all tangled up in each other and I'm about to burn up. His head is laying on my chest with his arm draped over my body. One of his legs are thrown over both of mine. You would think with him being asleep and dead weight that he would be heavy but he's not. I look over at the clock and its 6:00. I really need to get up but I don't want to wake him up. Romey is still at the foot of the bed sleeping away. I lay there for a couple more minutes and then decide to get up. I untangle myself from Derek and he doesn't wake up. I take off his shirt and put my other clothes back on. I'm not really hungry but I know Derek will be when he wakes up, so I decide to go down stairs and cook him breakfast. I open the refrigerator and there are some eggs and bacon. On the counter is some bread. I cut the stove on and start cooking the eggs. I'm going to make a omelet. When I have finished making the eggs I put the bacon in the microwave. I make sure to stand their and take it out before the timer hits zero and it starts beeping. When the bacon is done I find some bread and put it in the toaster. I let it sit in their until it pops up. I find a plate and put all the food on it and then look for some aluminum foil. After I find some I wrap it around the plate and then walk back upstairs. I put the plate on the table and then find a piece of paper and a pen. I write

" _Derek, I had a great time with you last night. Here is you some food and I will see you at practice. Which that will be what time? - Shawn." _

I draw a big heart up under my name and then put the note on the table by the plate. I'm walking out of the house when I realize I don't have a car here. I could either call Mark or take a taxi. I think I should call Mark because I wouldn't want a taxi driver picking me up from Derek's house. I pull out my phone and call Mark. He answers on the second ring.

" Hey Shawn." he says

" Hey Mark, did I wake you up?"

" No, I've been up for a while. What's up?"

" Nothing, I was just leaving Derek's house and when I was walking out the door I realized I didn't have a ride home and he is still sleeping. Do you care to take me home?"

" I don't mind at all. I only live right down the road. I'll be there in a minute."

" Thank you so much. I owe you one."

I hang up the phone and sit down on the steps. It takes Mark about 5 minutes to get to Derek's house. When I see him I get up and walk out to the car and get in.

" Hey." I say

" Hi, your up early. I was shocked when I looked at the caller I.D. and seen your name and number."

" I guess I didn't think about how I was going to get home until I got outside. I locked the door behind me, so I didn't have a way back in."

" Do you know what time we are practicing?"

" No, I left a note for Derek to text me and let me know."

" Okay he hasn't said anything to me either."

" We really need to practice though."

" Yes we do."

It takes Mark about 25 minutes to drive to my apartment.

" Thank you so much for giving me a ride. I owe you one." I say

" Anytime."

I walk into my apartment and take a shower. I put on Nike yoga pants, a bright orange shirt, and neon orange Nike tennis shoes to match my shirt. I then fix my hair and put on a little bit of make up. I walk into the kitchen and grab me a protein bar and a bottle of water. While I'm sitting on the couch I get a text from Derek.

It says " _Practice in 15 minutes." _

I text him back and say " _Okay." _

I'm glad I went ahead and got my shower and everything else. I decide to go ahead and leave. It takes me the whole 15 minutes to get there. When I pull in I see Derek's car but not Mark's. I park beside Derek and then walk into the studio. I open the door and Derek is sitting on the steps holding a ice pack on his neck. It must be hurting him again.

" Hey babe." I say

I walk over to the steps and sit down beside him.

" Hey."

He leans over and kisses me.

" Are you alright?" I ask

" My neck is just hurting a little bit, but yeah I'm fine."

" I guess Mark is running a little late."

" Like usual."

" You are right." I say laughing

" Thank you for breakfast this morning. It was delicious, you are a great cook."

" Your welcome. I figured you would be hungry when you woke up."

" I was starving. I was wondering how you got home? I drove you to my house in my car."

" Mark took me home."

When I say this his smiling face falls.

" Oh." he says

" Derek, don't pout. I locked the door when I was leaving and if I rang the doorbell it would have woke you up. If I would have called a cab most likely they would know who I was and that I was leaving your house at like 7 in the morning. I knew Mark lived right down the road from you and I figured he wouldn't care to drive me."

" I could've took you home. It wouldn't have mattered if you woke me up."

" Let's not argue about this, please."

I get up from the steps and move over into his lap. I through my legs over his thigh. He stops holding the ice pack and wraps his arms around my waist. I wrap mine around his neck.

" I'm sorry. I don't want to fight either." he says

" It's okay. I had a great time last night."

" Me too. We will definitely have to take the boat back out."

" For sure."

" I love you." he says

" I love you too."

He leans in and his lips capture mine. I instantly kiss him back and our tongues start roaming around in each others mouths.

" Oh my god. I walk in at the worst times." Mark shouts

Derek lets go of me and I jump out of his lap.

" Sorry." Derek and I say

" I'm just not used to seeing ya'll together." Mark says

" I know, it's a lot to take in." I say

We talk for a little bit longer and then I start stretching. When I'm done stretching Mark and I practice some of the moves we have learned over the past few days. After we have went over those moves Derek explains the rest of the dance. One hour later I have learned the rest of the dance. Mark and I are practicing the dance put all together. We practice it a couple more times and then decide to end practice. We all bid our goodbyes to each other and then I drive home to my apartment. I decide to take a nap when I get home.

It's Monday afternoon and I have about 3 hours until the show. I'm already dressed and have my make-up on. The rest of the week's practice went great. We didn't have any more fights between us and we all got along great. I think Mark has finally got used to the fact that we are dating. I'm sitting on the couch up in the sky box. We just finished dress rehearsals and Mark and I have went over the dance a couple of times. I see Derek walking up with Val behind him.

" Hey guys." I say

" Hey cutie." Val says

" Hey babe." Derek adds

" What are ya'll up to?"

" I was going to come up here and ask if you wanted to go to the club with me tonight? A bunch of us are going we have a reserved place and everything. I think we are going after the show." Val says

" I will definitely think about it. It sounds like fun." I reply

" Okay, just let me know. I'm going to head to my trailer and I will see ya'll later."

" I will. Bye Val."

" Bye." Derek says

He sits down beside me and grabs my hand. Our fingers intertwine and his thumb starts caressing my hand.

" What do you think about going to the club?" I ask

" I can't go. I have to go to the doctor and see if I can dance this week."

" Okay."

" What do you think about it?" he asks

" Well, I don't want to go if your not going."

" If you want to go you should go."

" I would rather you be with me."

" Me too. Besides Val's invitation sounded a little weird. He was like come with me instead of saying come with us."

" I didn't even notice."

" You never do. Your so oblivious to the guys around you. Everybody I have met that knows you just falls in love with you."

" I don't pay much attention. You're the only guy I pay attention too. I only care if you love me not anybody else."

" You don't have to worry about me loving you. I will always love you Shawn Johnson."

" I will always love you too Derek Hough."

I lean over and give him a kiss on the lips. When I pull back he picks up our twined fingers and kisses my hand.

" How is your neck feeling?" I ask

" Well to be honest this is the only day it has felt great all day. I pray that I can dance with you next week."

" That's great. I do too. I have missed dancing with you."

" I have too."

We sit on the couch for a little while longer until it starts getting time for the show. We all decided that Derek is going to walk down the stairs with us. Mark and I are the next to last ones to dance. We are not having a elimination this week because of Hurricane Sandy and some people don't have power. When its finally our turn to dance Derek has a special seat reserved for him on the front row. When the music starts Mark and I start dancing. We don't have any mistakes through the whole dance. The whole time I was just watching Derek to make sure he was smiling. When the dance is over Mark kisses me on the cheek and I look over at Derek and his face has fallen and he isn't smiling anymore. Gosh he is so jealous of any guy that touches me. I love him so much, so I wouldn't have him any other way. We hear the judges comments and then Derek comes out on the floor and grabs my hand. We all walk up the stairs to the sky box. While we are up there Brooke of course asks who would I rather have and I just tell her I would take her. We finally get our scores and we have a perfect 30. With the week Derek and I have had I'm just happy that we got through it. Derek and I are walking back to the dressing room so I can change into my outfit for the swing dance marathon.

" You danced really good." Derek says

" Thank you. I wish we could have done it together."

" Me too. Maybe we can this coming week."

" I hope so."

He pulls me in for a hug and I wrap my arms around his waist. He kisses the top of my head and then lets go of me.

" He kissed your cheek." Derek says dryly

" Yeah he did. Did you see me pull away?"

" Yes I did. I got a little mad and then I reminded myself that your mine and you love me and I love you."

" Your getting better. I have told you a million times that I love you."

" And I love you too."

Derek leaves the room so I can change. I change and then walk back up the sky box. I sit there beside Derek and Mark for a little while until its time for the marathon dance. We take our place on the floor and dance until we get eliminated. We end up in third place which is fine with me. I would have much rather won but I'm happy with that. After we all leave the studio we have to go outside for press. As soon as press gets done Derek has to go to the doctor. The whole time during press they ask us about next week's dance. They all ask me about dancing with Mark and Derek and the difference between them. I didn't tell them who I would rather have. I would rather not let the whole world know. I try the whole time not to say the wrong thing. It's pretty hard and I'm so glad when the interviews are over. I head back to my trailer to change clothes. When I have changed I open my door to leave and Derek is walking up the steps.

" What are you doing here?" I ask

" I was going to see if you wanted to go with me to the doctor."

" Sure I'll come. I'll drive my car and follow you there."

" Okay."

Before I leave I text Val and say " _Sorry something came up and I'm not going to be able to meet ya'll tonight. Maybe next time. Xo."_

I then start my car and follow Derek to the doctor. It takes about 15 minutes to get there. I park beside Derek and he waits on me and then we walk in together. He checks in and tells the receptionist his name. We find a secluded spot in the corner and sit for about 10 minutes and then Derek's name is finally called. I can tell he is really nervous. He is not being the goofy person he usually is. We walk back to the back to a room. The nurse asks him some questions and then the doctor comes in. He shakes Derek's hand and then turns towards me.

" This is one of my good friends and dance partner Shawn Johnson." Derek says introducing me.

" I don't need a introduction. I know exactly who she is." the doctor replies

" Nice to meet you." I say while shaking his hand.

The doctor examines Derek's neck and then starts talking to him. He tells him to rest for the rest of the night and then he can start dancing again. I think Derek pees on himself a little bit. He is so excited and I've haven't ever seen him this happy. After Derek pays the fee for coming we walk out of the office and walk to our cars. When we get there he turns to me and picks me up. He spins me around in circles shouting " We can dance together again!" I start laughing and wrap my arms around his neck. He sits me back down and then pulls my face to his.

" I'm so happy right now."

" I am too. Its great news."

We talk out in the parking lot for a little while and decide to have practice tomorrow morning at 8:00. We bid our farewells and I get in my car and head back to my apartment. I'm so happy that Derek is better and that we can dance together again.

_Sorry its so short. I wanted to give you an update since I haven' t updated in a while. I hope you all like it. Please review. _


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